Shattered Soul
by ladyanaconda
Summary: "Do you want to know what's going on?" the annoying fish's voice filled my ears again. My heart skipped a beat; all I could do was nod my head slowly and look into Sonia's eyes. "... you're dead."
1. Dead

Shattered Soul

Chapter 1- Dead

The first thing I felt when I woke up was a terrible headache; damn, I had never had such a headache in my life. Believe me, I know what a headache is, my brother is a vegetarian shark… speaking of which, where was he? I looked around, but there was no sign of Lenny anywhere, only sand and a few rocks. However, one object attracted my attention; I slowly approached it with caution, it was one of those human devices to keep their ships in one place…

An anchor.

Suddenly, my headache got worse. I growled in pain and tried to calm it down by rubbing my head with my fins, but to no avail. I was SO gonna get Lenny for this. Leaving me alone here when I tried to help him! but strangely enough I couldn't remember what had happened… the only thing I could remember was chasing after a fish my brother had refused to eat… everything after that was a blur… I decided to think about it later and swam back home oh, when I find Lenny, I'm gonna smack him so hard that it'll leave my other hits to shame. However, I was missing something important here… Lenny doesn't usually leave just like that… had something happened?

"Have you remembered already?" I was startled by a voice from behind; but when I turned, I saw no one.

"Who are you?" I called out in annoyance; if someone was playing a trick on me…

"So you have not?" the same voice asked, this time above me.

"Show yourself!" I growled threateningly

"As you wish," suddenly, in front of me, it appeared. I was initially stunned, nut I growled at the new presence after a few seconds. It was a fish… but there was something weird about this fish… she had pure white scales, and her tailfin was shaped like a feather. Light blue markings were all over her body, and her icy blue eyes would have anyone frozen in fear… but not ME! I growled at her

"Oh, you're not scared?" she asked me with all the calm of the world, "Wow, you're the first one,"

What's wrong with this fish? I'm a Great White shark! The terror of the ocean! Why wasn't she trembling in fear and begging me not to eat her? She was simply floating in front of me, relaxed and with no trace of fear in her eyes. What did she think that I was another puny fish she could talk to? Didn't she know that I could eat her in the blink of an eye?

"Are you sure you wanna keep doing that?" she asked me raising an eyebrow calmly, "growling and snarling at me?"

REALLY, this fish was getting on my nerves!

"Who the heck are you?" I snapped, "don't you know what I am?"

"You're a great white shark," she replied, again with no fear

"So? Why aren't you afraid?"

"Why should i? in your current state, it would be pointless for you to eat me,"

"Hey, I don't know who but-!" I stopped abruptly when I heard her, "what do you mean in my current state?"

"You haven't realized what happened to you yet?"

I was confused; what happened to me?

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped in annoyance once again

"It means that you shouldn't bother going home; what you'll see there is going to hurt you,"

That was IT! I've had enough of this puny fish! I lung her at her and opened my jaws, expecting her to scream in terror and try to escape. However, she just stayed there, and didn't move an inch. Fine, have it her way. If she wanted to die so badly, so be it. However, I didn't expect what happened next: she just disappeared! just when I was about to close my jaws, she vanished.

"You missed me," I heard her voice from behind

I twirled back and, indeed, there she was, with her fins crossed and an annoyed loom on her face.

How… how did she do that?

"You want to go home? Fine, so be it. go, but don't come crying if you're hurt,"

Those were her last words before vanishing, as mysteriously as she had appeared.

As I swam back home, I kept thinking about what she said.

_Haven't you realized what happened to you yet?_

What had she meant with that? Had something happened that I was not aware of? But who as that fish, anyway? This was the first time someone had the nerve to stand up to me! she had not been afraid of me, and she had this strange power of appearing and disappearing.

XOXOX

When I got home, the first thing I wanted to do was to find Lenny and smack the life out of him for leaving me there. I swam silently, expecting to find him hiding somewhere. However, there was something… wrong, here. There was no one in here, the corridor was empty. And there seemed to be an eerie air around me; suddenly, I heard a noise in the corner. In fact, I saw Giuseppe the hammerhead turning sharply around the corner, but something was wrong with him…

"Hey, Giuseppe! Where's everyone?" I asked him

However, he didn't reply; actually, I seemed as if he hadn't heard me. he just passed by next to me, looking down. What was wrong with him…? I chose to ignore it and continued on my way. I passed by Pop's office, and the door was open. I couldn't resist and took a look inside… but Pop was not in there, neither were Luca or Lenny. What was happening, where was everyone…?

"Don't tell me you haven't realized!" the same annoying voice from before snapped, startling me.

I sharply whirled around and there she was, the same annoying fish from before.

"Oh, come on! You again?" I growled, "and what's with that appear-and-disappear thing of yours?"

"Hey, I'm a ghost. I can appear and disappear at will,"

Now, THAT was something. A ghost? She? What did she think I was? A three-year-old pup?

"a ghost? Don't try you play a trick on me! You're not a ghost!" I bared my teeth at her

"Oh, really? Then what am I?" she crossed her fins in annoyance

"A prankster wanting to annoy me, that's what!"

"Could a prankster do this?"

Suddenly, before my very eyes, she disappeared again. I looked around the room tying to find her, but she was gone. I heard knocking from behind, on glass. When I turned around, I was shocked to see the fish inside the tank where Pop kept his piranha pets. However, much to my shock and confusion, the piranhas swam away from her in fear. They huddled up on the corner of the tank, watching at the puny fish in fear.

"So do you believe me now?" the fish asked me in annoyance

I had loss of words; my Pop's piranhas were AFRAID of a little fish. This was weird enough already, but what happened next was even more weird. I heard somebody swimming into the room; when I turned around, I indeed saw my mother swim in. Oddly, she was crying her eyes out.

"Mom! Finally, someone normal!" I sighed in relief as soon as I saw her, "hey, mom, do you have any idea of what's going on?"

However, she just sat in the sofa and kept crying. Hadn't she heard me? first Giuseppe, and now mom? Just what the heck was going on?

"Mom, hello?" I called out for her in annoyance as I swam closer, "am I invisible or something?"

Then I stretched out my fin to touch her shoulder… but I'll never forget what happened next…

My fin went right through her.

I pulled back my fin in shock; what was that? My fin simply went through her, I couldn't touch her… and she didn't even notice my presence-

"m-mom?" I whispered in shock, and again she didn't seem to hear me

"Do you understand now?" that fish was starting to seriously annoy me.

"Would you just leave me alone?" I snapped at her in fury

"What's wrong? Can't you face the reality?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The fish sighed in annoyance and swam towards the doorway; she turned to look at me.

"Follow me," she whispered coldly.

Although confused, I decided to follow her. my mother didn't stop crying, this was confusing enough for me…

"Wait a minute!" I called out to the fish

"What is it?" she turned to look at me

"Could you at least tell me your name?"

"…just call me Sonia,"

Sonia? What kind of name was that? We swam through the corridors of the ship, and again no one we passed by seemed to notice our presence. I started to lose patience!

"What's wrong with everyone? Why are they acting as if we were not here?" I growled

"You shall see soon," Sonia replied as she stopped right in front of the Dining Hall, "listen carefully… what you're going to see might hit you HARD. Are you sure you want to go in?"

"Let's just go in there!" I pushed her aside and entered

Even today, I wish I hadn't.

When I entered the dining hall, I noticed everything was different. Usually, the other sharks were enjoying themselves with their comrades while sharing some fish as a snack. Right now, however, they didn't seem to be enjoying themselves… everyone seemed sad, there were flowers everywhere and, once again, they didn't notice my presence.

"What's this?" I whispered in confusion, "did someone die?"

"Exactly," Sonia's annoying voice replied

I turned to look at her

"Who?"

However, she didn't answer. I started to lose patience again.

"I asked you a question," I growled at her as I swam closer, "whose funeral is this?"

Sonia pointed towards something with her fin; my gaze unwillingly followed it and I saw Pop sitting next to one of the tables, but he seemed… sad. It seemed as if he had lost all of his strength, but why?

"Pop, can you hear me?" I called out as I swam closer to him, but he didn't hear me. as I got closer, I could hear the other sharks speaking to him.

"I'm terribly sorry, Don Lino," I heard Giuseppe say to my pop, "everybody loved Frankie,"

I froze in place. What was that supposed to mean? I was right here! But why couldn't they see me?

"do yo want to know what's going on?" the annoying fish's voice filled my ears again

My heart skipped a beat; all I could do was nod my head slowly and look into Sonia's eyes.

"… you're dead,"


	2. Lost

Shattered Soul

Chapter 2- Lost

My blood went cold like poison when those words escaped Sonia's mouth. me? dead? Impossible!

"d-dead?" I stuttered in complete shock, "that's not possible! Look at me! I'm here!"

"You're dead," Sonia repeated with a glint of compassion in her voice, "this is YOUR funeral."

I still could not believe it! I refused to! I couldn't be dead! That meant… no…

"Just think about it, Frankie," Sonia explained, "since you got here, nobody has been able to see you, haven they? You couldn't even touch your mother and nobody hears you. As if you weren't here at all…"

"SHUT UP!" I screamed at her in anger as I took my fins to my ears and turned away. However, as I was looking out in the window, I could see one figure peeking from there… a figure I knew too well.

"Lenny!" I swam towards the window, but I just swam through it. damn, I was still getting used to this fiasco… the window should have shattered into millions of pieces, but it was still intact. And I had no scratched… anyway, I swam towards my brother.

"Lenny, you idiot!" I growled at him, "how could you leave me there-?"

But when I tried to smack him, my fin went right through him. and he didn't even notice me, neither. I felt my heart accelerating its pulse.

"See?" Sonia swam closer to me, "you're a ghost. They can't see you, hear you and they can't even sense you're here, Frankie,"

"Hey, listen, you're starting to get on-!" I stopped abruptly when I realized one thing, "how do you know my name?"

"I'm the Keeper of the Dead; when someone dies, it is my duty to collect the soul and take it to the afterlife. Long story short, I know everything about all the people I have collected, you included," she explained

Keeper of the Dead? Pop had told Lenny and me stories about the Keeper, but u had never believed them… I always thought he only told us that so that we would behave.

"If you know EVERYTHING about me, then tell me a personal thing of mine," I smirked mockingly; there was no way she could answer that.

Sonia, however, simply sighed annoyingly

"When your brother, Leonard, was born, you loved to annoy him by taking away his pacifier… oh, and your full name is Franklin Lino,"

My smirk faded away; how did she know that…? This meant… was she really a Keeper of the Dead?

"So… that means you're going to take me away?" I raised one eyebrow

"On your case, not yet. I can clearly see you still have some loose strings here," Sonia replied.

"What do you mean with loose strings?"

"It means you have some unfinished business,"

Unfinished business? What did it mean? Argh! Whatever! But how did I die? It had no sense… had the anchor I spotted earlier something to do with it? this was stressing me to no end… I was so deep in my thoughts that I almost missed Lenny swimming away from the ship.

"Lenny!" I swam after him, again forgetting he could not see or hear me. he seemed hurt, but I had not paid attention to what he was spying on, but then it hit me… Pop.

He must have said something that made Lenny feel bad, and apparently Lenny had not taken it kindly…

"So? Where are we going?" I heard Sonia's voice from behind again; I turned my head back and saw she was holding a grip on my dorsal fin.

"Why are you following me?" I snarled at her without taking my eyes off my runaway brother.

"It's my duty! I'm supposed to keep an on you until you're ready to go on," she replied almost yelling

"well, you're wasting your time because I don't need a babysitter" I'm not a pup!" I snapped indignantly

"Hey, look! I don't make the rules, okay?i just follow them!"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and returned my gaze to my brother. He suddenly slowed down his pace and eventually came to a halt behind a large boulder. He then rested in the sandy ground and covered his face with his fins.

"I'm sorry, pop," he whispered in sorrow and guilt before starting to cry.

For the first time in years, my heart sank when I saw Lenny cry like this… I had not felt like this since I had to defend Lenny against some bullies when he was four years old. How I wished he could see me so I could comfort him… this made me actually feel sorry for him.

"How painful, isn't it? You can see him suffer like this and you can't do anything about it," Sonia's voice interrupted again.

"Would you be compassionate for me, at least?" I growled, "you have no idea how it feels to see somebody you love suffering while being able to do nothing about it!"

"But I DO have idea, Franklin!" she replied indignantly, but she called me by my FULL name! "I was alive once, so I know how it feels to watch someone suffer while being unable to help it!"

"Don't call me by my full name!" I snapped

After a while, while I was trying to calm down, I heard voices in the distance.

"Lenny!" they were calling out for my brother

A soon as Lenny heard them; he quickly swam out of sight. I barely had time to react.

"Lenny, wait for me!" I called out as I swiftly swam after him. I felt Sonia getting a hold of my dorsal fin once again. I ignored her and swam as fast as I could, but I had a hard time catching up to Lenny; he was one of the fastest sharks of the reef. I still had to get used to that 'invisible' thing. The sun began to set in the distance and I noticed Lenny was heading towards the reef. Just what was going on inside his head?


	3. Guilt

Shattered Soul

Chapter 3- Guilt

When we got to the reef, it was night already. Lenny was exhausted, but that didn't stop him from swimming over a small forest of long kelp to hide from the other sharks. Pop surely must have sent them to look for Lenny, and my brother obviously had no intentions of going back. But why…? What had I missed? Besides my own funeral… I swam towards the kelp forest and came to a halt right next to my brother. After a while, we noticed the sharks from earlier swimming around.

"Lenny!" one of them was calling, "where the heck is he? Lenny!"

Suddenly, the other shark gave his companion a smack in the head.

Hey, what are you doing?" he growled, there's a Sharkslayer around here! You want to die next?"

"You're right,"

They started to call for Lenny again, but this time in a low tone. What had they said about a Sharkslayer…¡

"How much time was I out?" I growled in annoyance

"About one day," Sonia replied. I hadn't heard her voice in the whole afternoon so it startled me. I would have replied, but then I noticed something small was peeking at the sharks.

"Phew, that was close…" he muttered in relief

That voice… it sounded familiar.

"Super close," Lenny spoke up, and looked down at the visitor; the visitor looked up in fear when he heard Lenny's voice, "don't panic,"

But it was clear in the visitor's face that he was panicking. He was about to scream but Lenny put his fins in his mouth and pulled him back.

"Quiet. We're safe," Lenny spoke in low voice to the fish

"Oh, no, not you again," the fish groaned in frustration

"Yeah," suddenly Lenny yelled in fear and looked around, "Ah! What was that?"

"Yo! What's with you, man?" the fish yelped in shock and confusion

"Shh! He could be anywhere,"

"Who?"

Lenny put his fins over the fish's mouth once again.

"Shh! The Sharkslayer."

Again with this 'Sharkslayer' guy! And what's with the name? Just what's going on?

"You really want to know?" Sonia spoke up

"Hey, would you stop speaking out of nowhere? You're starting to annoy me!" I growled softly to her

"I said if you want to know who the Sharkslayer is,"

"Whatever," I looked back at my brother

I noticed he was lying on a sea sponge bed, covering his eyes with his fins and… crying?

"Lenny? What are you doing?" I yelled at him, "you're a Great White! You shouldn't cry like a-!"

I stopped. Crap, I haven't gotten used to this thing of not being seen nor heard. The puny fish from before swam over to Lenny's face.

"No, no, it's not all that. Just relax,"

"It was my fault…" Lenny sobbed, "Well… kinda… not really… but still. My brother…"

Hearing this tore at my heart. Lenny… missed me? He really loved me that much? All these years I had only been constantly picking on and smacking him, and he still missed me, it made me feel… guilty… on the inside. I wanted to swim next to him, hug him and tell him it was gonna be alright… like when he was four. But when I reached out my fin for his shoulder, it went through him. Could I possibly be more miserable than this? I felt tapping on my shoulder, and turned my head to face Sonia once again. Her eyes were full of compassion.

"I'm sorry," she whispered

"For what?" I inquired softly; o was way too sad about this to even get angry at her.

"I know how much you want to comfort him…"

I didn't reply. What was I supposed to say, anyway? I noticed the fish was swimming away, but Lenny grabbed him again. I followed.

"Wait!" Lenny cried

"What, man?" the fish replied in surprise

"I didn't catch your name,"

"Oscar,"

"I'm Lenny. Hi."

"Hi," the fish called Oscar replied in annoyance

"Where do you live?"

"Lenny, where I come from, fish don't like to get grabbed by sharks,"

"Sorry,"

"Go home,"

"There is no home for me now. Don't you understand?" Lenny shook Oscar slightly desperate

"You're too big to be grabbing on me," Oscar muttered as he tried to swim away, but Lenny swam in front of him.

"Take me home with you," he begged

"What?" Oscar swam past him

"You won't notice I'm there. I'm like the invisible shark," Lenny the put his fins over his eyes.

I couldn't contain a small laugh. Lenny would always do that to try to convince Pop to let him go with him to a meeting when he was five years old.

"Are you crazy?" Oscar asked my brother uncredously

"Please. I'm begging you. Don't leave me alone," Lenny sobbed and pleaded at the same time. Both Oscar and I sighed in annoyance

"Put your fins on the wall where I can see 'em!" a voice startled the three of us. Oscar pushed Lenny into the wall and peeked over to see… I peeked as well, but I realized they were only kids. I noticed they had spray paint cans on their fins, and a drawing in the wall. I was so concentrated on the drawing that I didn't bother to hear what the kids were saying to Oscar. The drawing was spectacular, but when I noticed what it was about, I got angry. A fish was standing over a shark, controlling him with a chain and holding a sword. This was so insulting. I turned back to see Oscar and the kids.

"It is now, bro-bro. you're the Sharkslayer,"

My eye went open wide. Oscar, a punny fish, claimed to be a Sharkslayer? I would rather believe that Lenny was a cold-blooded, vicious killer than this!

"Hey, Sonia! What's going on here?" I growled

"See, you remember that you were supposed to teach Lenny how to be a shark, don't you?" she inquired.

I nodded

"Well, you remember what happened after Lenny refused to eat Oscar?"

Actually, I didn't.

"The only thing I remember after that is that I chased after the fish. After that, I don't know." Then it struck me like lighting, "does the anchor I saw in that field have anything to do with that?"

Sonia nodded.

"Effectively, that anchor was the reason you died in the first place,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You died because that anchor crushed you to death,"

"WHAT?" I yelled in shock

"You were not looking were you were swimming and if fell over you,"

"What does that have to do with the Sharkslayer guy?"

"See, after your death, Oscar took advantage of this to become rich and famous like he always wanted because he was found standing next to your corpse,"

I smacked my head with my fin in frustration; just what I needed. Everybody thought I was killed by a puny little fish.

"Great, just great!" I snapped in frustration and fury, "a Great White shark like me supposedly defeated by a puny little fish? Could there probably be something more humiliating than that?"

"Hey, calm down! Besides, look over there, Lenny is leaving with Oscar,"

"What?"

I twirled around and saw that, indeed, Lenny and the Oscar guy were swimming towards a giant duct that led into the reef. I tried to follow them, but Lenny closed the duct.

"Great, what now?" I muttered

"You're a ghost, remember?" Sonia tapped my head softly, "you can go through it,"

Go through it… I had forgotten about it, I had swum right through the window back at the ship. I closed my eyes shut and swam forward… I didn't feel anything, and when I opened my eyes I realized I had indeed gone through the bars. I smirked slightly as I quickly swam forward to find my little brother, Sonia once again gripping on my dorsal fin.


	4. The Storage Room

Shattered Soul

Chapter 4- The Storage Room

I followed Oscar and Lenny all the way in the sewers to nearby the Whale Wash, stopping when they stopped and moving when they moved. Finally, Oscar peeked out into the dark street to make sure there was no one around.

"Alright, just follow me and don't make any noise," Oscar indicated

"Okay…" Lenny whispered, "oh, an echo. Echo!"

I shook my head in annoyance, Lenny could be SO childish at times, and suddenly I heard a smack.

"OW! It's not okay to hit!"

I growled lowly; Oscar had SMACKED my brother! Only I could do that, no one else! He was SO lucky I was dead… Oscar quietly swam out of the sewer and Lenny tried to follow, but got stuck. I swam through him and looked around; the street was empty, there was no one around. I noticed Oscar was trying to help Lenny out of the sewer. Suddenly, we heard a siren; damn, a patrol… Lenny managed to finally swim out of the sewer and Oscar pushed him to an alley. I didn't bother to move; nobody could see me, anyway. The dolphin patrol swam by and, as I expected, didn't even notice me. Oscar motioned Lenny to follow him and snuck towards the Whale Wash storage room… but when Lenny tried to imitate his movements, he knocked down various things and ended head-fist hitting a garbage chute. I sighed in annoyance and smacked my head, that boy could sometimes be a complete moron. I swam towards the storage room just when Lenny was swimming in there and Oscar was speaking with a crab that had peered out from the garbage chute. It surprised me that I hadn't heard Sonia's voice for a while now, she apparently was the silent type of girl.

"I'm still here," her voice sounded just before I swam through door Oscar had just closed

"hey, are you a mind reader or something?" I asked her in annoyance

"more or less, every time you think something I can hear it. I'm the Keeper, remember?"

"whatever," I growled

"what's with that attitude of yours?" Sonia growled slightly angry

"hey, I'm Great White! We're the terror of the ocean, we're not supposed to be friendly with our dinner!"

"is that all sharks think of? Dinner?"

"Forget about it, you wouldn't understand.

After that, I spoke to her no more for now. I had told her enough. I swam through the metallic door and noticed my brother was hugging his tail with Oscar next to him.

"… I'm a vegetarian," Lenny whispered shamefully before flopping on the bed and covering his head with the pillow, and peeking his eyes to look at Oscar. To me it was clear Oscar wanted to laugh, but he repressed it quite well.

"That's all?" Oscar still tried not to laugh

"What do you mean that's all?" Lenny cried in desperation, "you're the first fish I've ever told, I'm tired of keeping it a secret!"

At this point, Lenny had stood and was floating in front of Oscar, poking him with his fin.

"And my dad! He will never accept me for who I am!" Lenny cried with notable sadness and hurt in his voice, then he sat back on the bed, "what's wrong with me?"

Oscar tried to calm him down

"Nothing' is wrong with you, man. I think all sharks should be like you,"

"God, that's sweet of you to say," Lenny looked up at his new friend

"And stop blaming yourself for what happened,"

"Really?"

"If you wanna blame anybody, blame me. if I hadn't been there on the first place, none of this would've happened,"

Then Oscar turned and started to swim away.

"Jeez, if Pop knew that, he'd ice you for sure," Lenny commented while looking away

Oscar chuckled and turned to see my brother

"'ice'? What's he, the Godfather or something?" he chuckled

"Yeah," Lenny replied

"What do you mean?"

Yeah, he is,"

Suddenly, Oscar's grin vanished in the blink of an eye and a horrified face drew on his features

"Hey, are you okay?" Lenny inquired in concern

"Do you mean… Don Lino is your father…?" Oscar mumbled in terror, fearing to hear the answer

"Uh… yeah?"

"Would you excuse me?" Oscar tried to force a grin as he swam towards the door, opened it and swam out before quietly closing the door.

I felt curious and swam through the door to see what had happened to Oscar. The last thing I saw for now was that puny fish swimming at top speed while screaming in terror. I chuckled slightly as I swam back inside. I noticed Lenny had fallen asleep… I swam closer to his bed, how I wanted to stroke his head… but when I tried, my fin went through him.

"Hey, Frankie…" I finally heard Sonia's voice

"What?" I growled softly

"Since we're going to stay here for a while, wouldn't you mind telling me a bit about how you reacted when you found out you were going to have a little brother?"

I turned to face her in surprise, her icy blue eyes showing curiosity

"Why do you want to know?" I narrowed my eyes at her in suspicion

"Just curiosity,"

I sighed as I sat down on Lenny's bed and closed my eyes; why shouldn't I tell her? I have nothing to hide, anyway. It was just that people didn't bother asking.

"Get comfortable, this is going to be a long story,"


	5. How About Leonard?

Shattered Soul

Chapter 5- How about… Leonard?

_When Lenny was born, I had just turned five. Almost five years of being my parents' boy, the favorite, the only one, the center of all their attention. Suddenly, everything changed. And it changed months before his arrival. Since the day my mom returned home with the result of those analysis which said positive, everything home began to spin around that very event. The room next to mine, which was being reserved for a special occasion, changed completely: fish cloth over there, new curtains and tapestry, plush dolls, dark blue crib, berry-colored bathtub, cake-colored lamps, and I was forbidden from going in there. When I managed to sneak into that room, the murmur of words: don' touch it, don't get it dirty, don't go in there, get out of there, haunted me._

_Mom no longer spoke with me as often, when Pop had the day off he spent it with Mom and the baby inside her womb. Actually, I didn't mind at first, but that began to change after some time. All the time, my parents, Luca, and the members of the mob only spoke of diets and exercises for my mom and names for the future baby._

"_Say hi to your little brother," my mom would take my fin, put in on her tummy, expected a movement and hugged me tightly._

_But I did not share that happiness. What I really wanted was my mom saying she had been wrong, that she was not pregnant and that she was getting fat just because she wanted to._

_I became quieter and grouchier than before. In only spoke with my friend Jack, the son of one of the members of the mob, although sometimes I wished I hadn't:_

"_When the baby is born, they won't love me anymore," I complained_

"_Yeah," he told me, "babies are always preferred over the older ones. Like Aaron, since his little sister was born they don't love him anymore and scold him for everything,"_

"_You think when the baby is born my parents will forget about me?"_

"_Don't exaggerate. They love him, although very little,"_

_I imagined that when the baby was born, Mom and Pop would no longer care about me. I was filled with terror._

_Nobody spoke to me anymore. They only spoke about the baby my mother had inside her womb. I looked for my maternal grandmother's company, but it was no use. She spent her time sewing and making hats and scarves for her future grandson. She no longer sewed anything for me. Besides, I didn't dare to tell anyone what I felt. I thought everyone would think of me like a bad and jealous boy. My only comfort was to speak with my grandfather Vitor. I called him secretly, because, since it was long distance, my parents didn't allow me. he, as good as he is, came wherever he could._

"_My boy," he told me, "it's normal that everyone is looking after your mother and the baby she'll have. Don't you see that expecting mothers and the babies in their tummies need a lot of care?"_

"_I don't need care anymore because I'm big?"_

"_It's not like that, child. You too need cares because, although you're big, you still have need of the elders. But since you're smart and good, you also can help your mommy and daddy and understand them, instead of being mad at them because they can't be with you as much as before. You'll see, Frankie, when your little brother is born you'll take care of him… and when he's a little older, you're going to play with him…"_

I closed my eyes and sighed, back in the present. All of this remembering made me feel sad, for some reason… perhaps remembering the time when I was completely ignored opened up a wound that I thought had healed long ago…

"Are you alright?" Sonia asked me

"Yeah, it's just that…" I looked at the ground, "that time… I felt as if I was a…"

I couldn't bring myself to say it.

"…like a ghost?" Sonia finished for me.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

"Yes…" I whispered in an almost inaudible tone

"Do you want to stop?"

"No, no… I'm okay,"

Then I continued with the story

_Lenny was a VERY expected baby. I perfectly remember the day he was born._

_It was Saturday. And like all Saturdays, my maternal grandparents had come since early, and my grandpa Vitor had arrived since Thursday from Italy to expect childbirth. The pains had started in mom but she didn't say anything until two o' clock, when we had just sat down to eat._

"_It's time," she said, putting her fins behind on her waist and making a pain gesture. _

_Pop quickly got up in alarm and dropped the salt with his fin. The salt poured over the table._

"_Oh, no!" Luca yelled as he began to try and wipe the salt with his tentacles, "its bad luck for seven years!"_

_Pop shot him an angry glare. Sometimes Luca's superstitions were funny to him, but right then… In the hospital, we waited and waited to get news from my mother. Pop was with her in delivery… _

_Lenny was born at eight o' clock._

_A nurse shark went to tell us it had been a boy and in a moment, when he was taken to the cribs, we would be called so that we could see him. after about an hour, the same nurse announced we could go to see the baby. I had tried to glance at my baby brother, but the adults were blocking the view. After some time, we went to see Mom. She was still weak from childbirth, but she had enough strength to stay awake. When we entered the room, Pop was next to her holding her fin._

"_Are you sure you're okay, honey?" he was smiling at her_

"_I'm alright, sweetie…" she was smiling back at him._

"_Hey, the baby's beautiful!" my maternal grandmother, Ana, got closer to my mother and congratulated her._

"_Congratulations, boss!" Luca swam towards Pop, "it's a healthy boy!"_

"_Thanks, Luca…"_

_While the others congratulated my parents, I swam out of the room into the corridor and sat down in one of the benches. I thought that they wouldn't notice, anyway_

"_Is something wrong, son?" I heard Pop's voice. I looked up and saw him swimming closer to me and sat next to me._

"_I'm okay, Pop…" I lied, "really…"_

_I felt his fin over my back_

"_Franklin," he called me by my full name, "I know my kid enough to know that something is bothering him,"_

_I couldn't take it any longer, as hard as I tried. I sniffed and started to cry, hugging my Pop tightly and nuzzling against his chest. I felt Pop's fins wrap around me._

"_Shh," he soothed me, "don't cry, it's okay…"_

_I rested my head against his chest._

"_Do you and mom still love me?" I asked him with a broken voice_

_Pop looked down at me, confused._

"_What do you mean?" he inquired_

"_Do you still love me? Aren't you going to forget about me?"_

"_Don't ever say that, Frankie… you're our first son. Just because we had another baby doesn't mean we will love you less… No one will ever replace you," Pop assured me with a grin_

_I smiled and rested my head on his chest once again. Suddenly, Luca swam towards us in a hurry._

"_Boss, the baby's here!" he announced to us in excitement_

"_I'll be right there," Pop replied before looking at me, "are you ready to meet your little brother?"_

_I nodded eagerly._

_When we swam into the room, we noticed Mom was holding a small bundle in her fins. It moved slightly, Mom cooed at it. Pop and I swam closer._

"_Lino, there's someone here who wants to meet you," she smiled at Pop as she handled him the bundle. _

_Pop looked down at my baby brother and smiled at him._

"_Hi, son," he whispered_

_I swam up to Pop's shoulder and took a glance at my little brother. He looked so cute when sleeping… he was resting his head against Pop's chest and every now and then struggled slightly. I couldn't help but smile at him._

"_And how will you l him?" Luca inquired_

"_How about Angello?" my grandma Ana suggested_

"_Come on, dear! Let Jasmine and her husband pick the name of their pup, would ya?" my grandpa Mario told her_

_Suddenly, the baby sneezed. Then he opened his eyes slightly, which turned out to be of a cheerful shade of green, just like Mom's eyes. When the pup saw me, he laughed and held his little fins up to me._

"_Aww. Frankie, your little brother loves you already," Mom smiled at me_

_Pop cooed at the pup and cradled him in his fins softly; my brother yawned, showing his lack of teeth, and snuggled deeper into Pop's embrace before falling asleep again._

"_How about… Leonard?" I suggested in an almost inaudible tone._

_However, Mom and Pop heard me._

"_Leonard… I like it," Mom commented_

"_Sounds nice…" Pop caressed my newly-named brother's cheek affectionately, "Leonard…"_

_Leonard struggled slightly and hid his face in Pop's chest._

Back to the present, I could not contain a tear that rolled down my cheek. This was the first time in years since the death of my grandpa Vitor that I had cried; I hoped Sonia had fallen asleep…

"Hey, are yo crying?" she spoke out of nowhere

Damn it! had she seen me? I quickly wiped the tear away and looked away

"What? No… I never cry…" I replied indignantly, but my voice was shaky, I felt something touch my shoulder, I turned my head around and saw Sonia had indeed placed her fin on my shoulder.

"Look I know how you are feeling…" she whispered to me

"It's just that…" I took a glance at Lenny; he still looked cute when he slept, "… I wish there was some way to stay… with Lenny."

Sonia looked at the ground for a few seconds and then sighed. Then she looked back at me.

"Look, I'm going to tell you strictly secret information… but I like you, so I'll tell you,"

I looked at her in confusion; what was she talking about?

"… There's a way to bring you back to life,"


	6. A Glimpse of Hope Part 1

Shattered Soul

Chapter 6- A Glimpse of Hope Part 1

My eyes went open wide when I heard Sonia. A way to bring me back to life? Was that really possible? Then perhaps… it was still not too late for me.

"Are you serious…?" I could barely speak from shock

"I wouldn't joke about something as serious as this," Sonia replied with a serious look in her face, "I shouldn't even be saying this to you, but… there's something different about you… from the other souls I've ever encountered,"

Different? What did she mean with different? How different can I be from others ghosts like me?

"Anyway, like I said before, I can bring you back to life, but I'll take time… about two days,"

"TWO DAYS?" I yelled in more shock

"Hey, but if it works then you might be able to see Lenny. But not as a ghost,"

"But why are you helping me? I haven't been nice to you…"

Before Sonia could answer, however, we heard a noise. Lenny seemed to have heard the noise as well, since he quickly hid in the corner where precisely Sonia and I were floating. As always, he did not notice our presence. I looked towards the source of the noise, and realized someone had entered the storage room. it was another fish, but this fish was a female. She had pink scares and a blue tailfin. She was apparently looking for something… Lenny gulped.

"Who's that?" I inquired

"Her name's Angela, most call her Angie for short." Sonia explained to me, "She had been Oscar's best friend since four years ago,"

Lenny gulped again; the pink fish names Angie had apparently not noticed his presence yet… but if she did…

"Can't we do something?" I inquired silently to Sonia

"Like what?" she replied dryly

"I don'0t know! Something like appear in front of her to scare her off!"

"We can't! Only a Medium would be able to help us!"

I looked back at the Angie girl; she was looking around for something. In her search, she dropped something.

"Oh!" she swam down to the floor to pick it up, but she must have caught sight of my brother's tailfin, because she froze in place and looked up… this was definitely NOT good.

"uh… hi?" my bother grinned nervously

Silence, then…

"AHHH!" Angie let out a loud scream and swam backwards, not bothering to look if something was behind them.

"AH!" Lenny screamed just at the same time.

I almost suffered a heart attack; I even jumped back a few steps. Even Sonia almost fell from my head.

"You didn't mention Lenny screams like a girl!" she commented

"You know, I don't reply as I should because I don't like arguing with woman," I replied in annoyance.

Lenny quickly put his fins over Angie's mouth and pulled her closer to him; I hoped no one had heard them both scream. Otherwise, we would have some trouble…

"Sh!" Lenny hushed her, "please don't scream! I'm not going to hurt you!"

I was not sure if Angie believed him or not, but I could clearly see that she was calming down a little bit… I turned to look at Sonia.

"Hey, what were you saying about bringing me back to life?" I asked her

"Oh, that's right. All we need to do is find your body and make a potion." She replied

"That's al-? WHAT? MY BODY?"

"Uh… yeah, we need your body to put your soul back in there,"

I smacked my head in frustration.

"Oh, no…" I muttered, "That's it. I'm staying as a ghost,"

"What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong! My body has probably drifted off somewhere far from here and has probably started to decompose!"

"Don't worry. A person's body doesn't decompose until the soul has passed on to the afterlife."

"What do you mean?"

"Your soul and your body are linked. If your soul doesn't pass on, your body can't decompose until the bond with your soul is broken,"

"But even if we find my body, how are we supposed to bring it here! I can't even touch my brother, what makes you think I'll be able to touch my own body? I growled

"You have a point…" Sonia looked at the ground for a while, "we will need the help of someone who's not dead,"

"WHAT?"

I jumped again with that scream. Wow, that Angie had strong lungs. I turned to see her and noticed Angie was no longer in Lenny's fins. She was floating a few steps from him, a look of complete shock in her face.

"Oscar lied?" she mumbled in shock, "he didn't really kill that shark?"

"No… an anchor fell over my brother… that's what really happened…" I could see Lenny was close to tears. I felt bad for my little brother.

"I can't believe he lied to me… to the whole reef…" Angie looked at the ground in sadness and disappointment, and then back at Lenny, "I'm sorry about your brother…"

I could not stand it anymore; I twirled around and swam out of the storage room. I had finally gotten used to swimming through things, and to Sonia following me around. I stopped a few meters from the storage room, and looked at the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I heard Sonia's now familiar voice

"What's wrong? What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong!" I could not contain to yell at her, "I can't bear to see my brother blaming himself for something that was not his fault! I can't bear to see him suffer because Pop simply can't accept his vegetarian habits! I CAN'T BEAR TO SIMPLY WATCH AND DO NOTHING!"

Sonia had swum back a few steps, with a look of complete shock on her face. Damn it! I screamed at her! I felt tears forming in my eyes… I tried to blink them away; I could not cry… at least not in front of Sonia… what would Pop or anyone think if they saw me crying? But more tears were forming…

"Don't repress it… let it go…" she told me

Those words had been like a spell, because suddenly I could not contain my tears any longer and felt them roll down my cheeks. I sighed and felt my lower lip start to shake… I hoped Sonia would not tell anyone about this… but strangely enough, I felt… relieved…

"That's right," Sonia whispered to me, "you just let go what you had repressed in your heart and that's what makes you feel relieved,"

I looked into her icy blue eyes… why had I screamed at her? This was not her fault… after all; she was just trying to help me. She was willing to break the rules of the Dead just to make me happy… speaking of which…

"What had you said about needing a living person's help?" I wiped the tears that were left on my eyes

"Oh, yeah. We need a Medium to carry your body back here…" Sonia explained

"And where are we supposed to find a Medium?"

"I don't know… I doubt there is any on this reef…"

Suddenly, Sonia's eyes brightened a bit.

"Wait.. That Angie girl... She had a strange Aura around her!"

"Aura?"

"I'll explain that to you later, my point is that Angie might be able to see the dead!"

See the dead? Angie? But that fish didn't look like she knew about that stuff. But, hey, Sonia was the expert… so I decided not to question her.

"Let's go back to the storage room and hope she sees us," Sonia told me as she swam back to the Storage room.

I followed her, after a while we swam through the wall and into the storage… and what we saw in there was not pleasant in the least…

Angie was leaning against the door, Oscar apparently had just arrived… and Lenny was hiding in a corner behind the door.

"Angie. Hey, what are you doing here?" Oscar asked her nervously, fearing she might have discovered something…

"What, Oscar? Did you forget something?" Angie inquired

Oscar started to swim around pretending to look for something…

"Oh.. Maybe you forgot…" Angie closed the door shut, revealing Lenny in a corner, "… your shark,"

Lenny looked over at Oscar while taking a sip from his soda.

"Hi," he greeted nervously

Oscar tried to save the situation. Man, this was more amusing than watching Luca drop Pop's paperwork all over the floor.

"Oh, come on! You shouldn't enjoy the misery in others!" Sonia exclaimed

"What? You don't see scenes like this every day…" I replied in defense, "besides, this is not misery… it's quite funny, if you think about it… OW!"

Sonia smacked my head. Well, it didn't hurt as much as it would if it had been another shark that hit me, but it still hurt.

So that's how it feels like.


	7. A Glimpse of Hope Part 2

Shattered Soul

Chapter 7- A Glimpse of Hope Part 2

"Kinks? You lied! Everyone thinks you slayed the shark!" Angie's hysteric voice resounded in the storage room.

"Who am I to tell them they're wrong?" Oscar replied nervously

"How could you lie to me, Oscar? Me!"

I sighed in annoyance and frustration. That was it, the secret wa out. Angie knew everything, and she would surely tell everyone. Lenny would have to return home and face Pop… and I had the feeling it would not be pretty. Sonia was sitting on my head, watching the scene.

"Can we see if this Angie girl is a Medium or not already?" I growled in desperation, I could not wait to be alive again.

"Would you wait a second?" Sonia replied in annoyance, We must wait until she is by herself or Oscar and your brother will think she is crazy,!

I looked back at the scene from the shadows.

"Sharks are coming to get me!" Oscar cried in horror

"And they should!" Angie replied with her fins crossed, "I mean, what'd you expect? You'd take credit for killing a shark, and then everything would be fine and dandy for the rest of your life?"

Oscar thought for a moment

"Unh… yeah,"

Sharks coming to get him? Had Pop sent them? Obviously, he surely had.

"Hey, how long is this going to take?" I massaged my temples

"I don't know,"

I would not stay here and wait until they decided on what to do.

"Hey, if ghosts can appear and disappear at will…" I spoke up

"Yeah?" Sonia looked down from my head

"… Can they teleport?"

"Well, yeah, but you need lot of concentration. Otherwise, you might end up in the wrong place,"

"Great, because I need to return home,"

"For what?" Sonia narrowed her eyes

"Being here watching those two argue is boring me to no end," I replied while pointing at Angie and Oscar

Sonia sighed in defeat.

"Fine. But since you're an amateur, just close your eyes and I'll do the rest,"

I narrowed my eyes at her in suspicion

"… Don't worry, I'm not going to play a joke on you," she seemed to know what I was thinking. AGAIN.

I did as she told me and closed my eyes for a while. But if she was trying to make me a joke…

"Alright, you can open your eyes," Sonia spoke up after about a minute

I opened my eyes slowly, expe3cting to find myself in the middle of a trench or something… but instead, I found myself in a VERY familiar place… Pop´s office. I looked around in shock, what had Sonia done…?

"See, ghosts only need to concentrate and think of a place they want to go to teleport; that's how I find the souls I collect," Sonia explained, "but why did you want to come here, anyway?"

"… I want to see how things are around here," I replied silently.

I wanted to see how Pop was doing, specifically. I was dead, and Lenny was missing. I suppose both he and Mom must be really worried-sick.

"Hey, how wouldn't they be worried? You two are their sons, and if I recall your story about Lenny correctly, your father loved him as much as he loved you and your mother,"

"Yeah, but that changed when Pop found out Lenny was a vegetarian…"

"Hey, parents are supposed to love their kids no matter what,"

I sighed in sadness.

"You don't understand, with sharks is a different thing. A shark that doesn't like to eat fish isn't even worthy to be called a shark, and since we're Great Whites, the most feared of sharks…" I looked towards my Pop's piranha pets, "… a vegetarian shark is a disgrace,"

It pained me to say those words; now that I finally realized how much I love Lenny, I also remembered that I had been a jerk to him when I found out he was a vegetarian. I DID care for him, but did I show it? I did not! And now I was paying the price… now that Lenny needs me the most, I can't be there for him. How could I even label Lenny as a…? NO! I would not say it anymore. He was my little brother, and that was the main reason I NEEDED to go back to life. I wanted to be there for him when he married (if he ever found a girl that wouldn't mind he was a vegetarian), when he had pups.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Sonia patted my head softly, bringing me back to reality

"What?" I looked up at her

"I think someone is crying…"

When I focused on my surroundings, I indeed heard someone was crying. It sounded like a female voice… it must be Mom. I swam through rooms, Sonia in my head, while heading for the source of the crying; my parents' room.

"So, your father thinks Lenny is a disgrace?" Sonia inquired

"No, he does love Lenny… it's just that since he is the Don, he can't have a son who is a vegetarian. It simply doesn't work out," I explained

"The Don, huh? I suppose you would have been the next Don when your father stepped down, weren't you?"

"Actually, Pop wanted me and Lenny to run the reef together. He had seen many mobs being thorn by sibling disputes, so he decided to put both of us in charge."

"Two Dons? Isn't that unusual?"

"I think about it too. Pop often said I could be the muscle and Lenny could run things. But I know Lenny is not interested in becoming the Don, he doesn't want to kill any fish,"

Sonia patted my head again and pointed to the front. I followed her fin and noticed we had arrived at my parents' room. Mom was indeed crying her eyes out; she was resting on the bed, her head resting on the pillows. After a while, I noticed Pop swimming out of the bathroom and heading for the bed.

"Jas, are you okay?" he asked her in concern

"Jas?" Sonia asked me in confusion

"A nickname Pop had for Mom when they dated," I explained

Mom did not reply, however. She was still crying; Pop swam closer to her, worried. Suddenly, Mom wrapped her fins around Pop's neck and rested her head against his chest, still crying her eyes out. Pop was initially shocked, but after a while he wrapped his own fins around her.

"Sh-h-h" he soothed her, "it'll be alright, my dear…"

"I miss them…" Mom sobbed

"Me too…"

I felt really sad about this; Mom and Pop truly missed both me and Lenny. Pop was not as emotional as Mom, of course, but his eyes showed he was very hurt about this, perhaps even more than Mom.

"Lenny might be… different… but he's still my son, and I love him," Pop whispered

I was glad I was invisible right now, because I felt like crying again. Pop truly loved Lenny and he wanted him back. Both Lenny and me. This was another reason I HAD to go back to life; for Mom and Pop. I looked through the window and noticed a storm had started; apparently I had been so lost in my thoughts that I had not noticed it before.

"Do you think Oscar and Angie are done arguing?" Sonia commented

"I hope so," I muttered

"Do you want to go back or you want to stay a little longer?"

"No, it's okay… I can go back now,"

"Close your eyes…"

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the Storage room. However, Oscar and Angie were gone and the lights were out; yep, apparently they were done. I noticed Lenny was resting on the bed, seemingly asleep. However, when a thunder roared, he whimpered slightly and struggled. Wow, he was still afraid of thunders.

"What do you mean with 'still'?" Sonia inquired

"When Lenny was five years old, he was afraid of thunders, but apparently he hasn't overcome it," I replied

"How old is he?"

"Nineteen,"

"He's nineteen years old and he's afraid of thunders?"

"I know, it's ironic… hey, Sonia, can ghosts sleep?"

"Well, they don't need to, but it's a way to spend the time,"

"Good,"

I swam over to Lenny's bed and rested next to him. He could not see nor feel me, so I guess he wouldn't mind. Sonia swam over to a small pillow next to the bed and rested.

"And before you ask, don't worry; you won't go through the bed while sleeping. When a ghost sleeps, its energy catalyzes and can rest on things." Sonia explained before she herself fell asleep.

I suddenly felt something in my chest; I turned and noticed Lenny was snuggling against me… wait, snuggling? Did he feel me right now? Sonia just said that when a ghost sleeps, its catalyzing energy allows it to touch things, and perhaps the living were no exception. I wrapped my fins around Lenny, and incredibly they did not go through him. I was hugging him as if I was still alive; Lenny snuggled deeply into my embrace when another thunder roared. The sweet memories this was bringing back.

When Lenny was five years old and I was ten, we shared room. Every time there was a storm, Lenny was unable to sleep; he would often swim to my bed and shake me awake.

"_Frankie, I'm scared. Can I sleep with you tonight?"_

Those words still sounded in my head every time there was a storm. Although I was often irritated for being awakened at about 1 A.M, I could not refuse. After Lenny rested next to me, he would often snuggle against me every time a thunder roared. I could not contain a small smile as I looked down at my little brother.

"good night, Len," I whispered to him before falling asleep.


	8. We Starte with The Wrong Fin

Shattered Soul

Chapter 8- We Started with the Wrong Fin

"Hey, wake up," a feminine voice resounded in my ears

I growled in irritation covered my head with the pillow

"Franklin, wake up," the same voice spoke

"Five more hours, Mom," I pleaded

"FRANKIE!"

I woke up with a start and hit my head with the shelf above.

"OW!" I growled in pain and looked around, Sonia was trying to repress a laugh, "what was that for?"

"Sorry, but you were sleeping like a whale," she replied still trying not to laugh

I rubbed my head and shot her a dagger glare. When I looked around again, I noticed Lenny was still sleeping. He struggled slightly like when he was a baby.

"Hey, speaking of which, can we go to see Angie at once?" I growled again while still rubbing my head

"Come on, follow me," Sonia twirled around and swam through the storage room walls; I followed soon after.

The sun was just coming out from, it was still dawn. That meant the fish of the reef were still asleep, it was a bit dark.

"Hey, what time is it?" I yawned, still sleepy.

"It's 5 A.M." Sonia replied

"Why did you wake me up at 5 A.M.?"

"Angie is still in her apartment, alone. We can speak to her with no worry,"

"Where does she live, anyway?"

"In the bottom of the reef,"

Bottom of the reef? There was caste in the reef?

"Yeah, there's the top of the reef, where the rich and famous live, downtown reef, where the middleclass fish live, and the bottom of the reef, where Oscar used to live." Sonia explained

"You must be wondering why I don't know about the reef as I should since I am supposed to be the next Don along with Lenny."

"Yeah,"

"Hey, the only times I came to the reef was to find something to eat. I never cared about the castes or something like that,"

"I don't want to imagine what kind of Don you would have been," Sonia snickered while looking around, "follow me, we're almost here,"

I followed Sonia to a balcony where I noticed there were various kinds of plants. This Angie girl obviously had an affinity for sea flowers. However, I realized there was a minor problem.

"Sonia, I don't fit in there," I whispered

"Don't worry, you can go through objects, remember?"

"But I'll feel weird if she just speaks to my head,"

"Fine, then you wait here and I'll get her to come out," Sonia rolled her eyes

I nodded my head and saw her enter through the closed window. I waited for a while, anxious. Was Angie really a Medium? After some more time, I knew Angie was indeed a Medium when I heard a blood curling scream from the apartment. I jumped a few steps back all of sudden; I hoped she would not wake the entire reef up. I could not resist and swam closer to the window, tying to hear what they were saying.

"a g-ghost? A-are you serious?" I heard Angie's shocked and terrified voice

"I know it sounds impossible, but yes. I am a ghost," Sonia replied

"But how can I see you? I thought you were invisible!"

"That's because you are a Medium,"

"A Medium?"

"That means one of your ancestors was a Medium, too,"

"… My mother once told me that my grandfather claimed he could speak with the Dead,"

"You must have inherited it from him, then,"

Apparently, Angie was calming down, at least.

"What brings you here, anyway?" I heard her ask

"See, I need your help with something," Sonia began to explain, "do you know Lenny? He's a Great White shark,"

"Lenny? How did you know about Lenny?"

"I'll tell you later, the point is that I need you to help me to bring his brother back to life,"

"h-his brother? Frankie, right?"

I looked towards the window in surprise. Angie knew about me? Lenny must have mentioned me when he told her about Oscar's lie. I heard the door of the balcony open and twirled around towards the balcony. Angie was floating there in terror and astonishment.

"… I-is he F-Frankie?" she mumbled terrified

"No, I'm Jaws. Of course I'm Frankie," I replied in annoyance

"Well, you don't look like Lenny at all…"

I sighed in annoyance. Everyone always said that Lenny and I don't look like brothers at all; we were as different like the day and night. His eyes were green, mine were hazel. He was weak, I was strong. He was slightly fat, I was slim and muscular. He was a vegetarian, I was a cold-blooded killer. Some people even thought that Lenny was not Pop's son by blood, that he was adopted.

"What kind of help do you need?" Angie inquired, apparently she felt speaking to Sonia more comfortable than speaking with me.

"See, to bring him back to life we need to find his body. But since we're ghosts, we can't touch things. That's where you come in. you can get someone big or strong enough to bring Frankie's body back here," Sonia explained

"That's all?"

"And try not to mention this to Lenny and Oscar just yet,"

"Oh, come on! What would I tell them? it's not like I can simply go and say 'hi, guys! I encountered a ghost fish and the spirit of Lenny's older brother who need my help to bring him back to life!"

"So you get it?"

"Yeah, and I think I know the person for that,"

"Hello? I'm still here," I spoke up in annoyance

Sonia turned to look at me.

"sorry." she turned to Angie, "I think you two started with the wrong fin. Angie, this is Frankie, Don Lino's son and Lenny's brother." Then to me, "Frankie, this is Angie, Oscar's best friend and co-worker."

We stared at each other for a while; Angie was calming down. After a while, I extended my fin to her; Angie jumped back a few steps. But she figured out what I meant, and extended her fin as well. Surprisingly, she was actually ABLE to touch my fin; we shook our fins.

"Nice to meet you," Angie tried to force a smile

I didn't say anything; what could I say? This was the first time I actually shook fins with a fish.

"Who you say can help us with his body?" Sonia pointed at me

"He's a dolphin, he might be able to bring his body back here," Angie explained

"A dolphin?" I yelled, "are you nuts?"

"Forgive him, he's tends to exaggerate a bit," Sonia explained to Angie, much to my annoyance

"I don't exaggerate!" I growled

"Anyway, where does your dolphin friend live?"

"Oh! He lives in midtown, follow me!" Angie exclaimed as she swam towards the center of the reef. Sonia and I followed after her; Angie turned to look at us.

"But listen this; I can't speak to you in public when we get to midtown, or everyone will think I have gone man." She explained

"We understand," Sonia nodded

"So, you're Lenny's older brother?" Angie turned to look at me

"Yeah."

"He told me you often were a bully and an airhead,"

"He did?" I growled

"… but he also said you were a good brother,"

The anger that had started to build up inside me cooled immediately after she said that. Lenny thought I was a good brother, despite the fact that I loved to tease him. I turned my attention back to Angie and followed her into the reef.


	9. Tomb Memories

Shattered Soul

Chapter 9- Tomb Memories

We followed Angie into the heart of the reef; it was still early, so the streets were still empty. There were only a few fishes around, and it was a bit dark. Seeing the other fishes made me fell hungry… wait, I can't be hungry. Ghosts don't eat, do they? Anyway, we followed Angie lower into the reef to a door that was the size of our doors. However, something was still bothering me.

"Hey, Sonia," I whispered

"What is it?" she replied swimming next to me

"How are we supposed to find my body? And how is that dolphin supposed to follow us?"

"Listen, don't worry about your body. I can link your mind to it temporally and you will swim to its location. And Angie can give the Vision to her dolphin friend temporally, at least until we found your body and he can bring it back."

I looked towards Angie, and she was still knocking the door.

"Hurley, are you home?" she was calling

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" an irritated voice replied from behind the door.

Then, a dolphin of about twenty two years opened the door. He had silver skin with a white underbelly, and black rings around his violet eyes. I noticed he had a scar on his forehead.

"Oh, it's you, Angie" Hurley yawned

"Listen, Hurley, sorry for waking you up this early but I need a favor," Angie explained

"What kind of favor?"

"You're not going to believe this, but…" Angie swam closer to Hurley's ear, "I'm kinda helping the ghost of a shark to revive,"

Hurley gave Angie a confused look, but it was more like an incredulous look.

"Hey, don't look at me as if I was crazy!" Angie complained annoyed

"Hey, are you alright?" Hurley touched Angie's forehead, "do you have fever or something?"

"Hurley, I'm fine! I'm telling you the truth!"

Sonia swam closer to Angie, and tapped her shoulder.

"Angie, touch Hurley's forehead," she told her

"Why?" Angie replied, ignoring the look Hurley was giving her

"Just do it, and I'll do the rest,"

"Angela, you're freaking me out," Hurley commented

"What about me?" I growled softly

"First let Angie give him the Vision, then I'll deal with you," Sonia replied in annoyance

Angie did as Sonia told her and swam towards Hurley's head, then placed her fin on his forehead.

"Angie, what are you-?"

Before Hurley could finish his sentence, however, Sonia placed her own fin over' Angie's and Hurley's eyes glew a pure white. After a while, his eyes went back to their shade of violet. However, he set his eyes on me… he could see me now? I guess so, because he swam back a few steps in shock.

"A-Angie…" he mumbled in shock while pointing at me

"I told you," Angie crossed her fins

"So? Do you believe her now?" Sonia swam to the frightened dolphin's face

"AH!" poor Hurley yelped and almost fell on his back

"Hurley, these are Sonia and Frankie," Angie pointed at Sonia and me respectively, "these are the ghosts I talked you about,"

"I see…" Hurley mumbled in shock, before taking his eyes from me to Angie, "What favor do you need?"

"See, Sonia says there's a way to bring Frankie back to life. But for that we need his body,"

"Yeah, what does have to do with me?"

"That's the problem, pal!" I growled, "Since we're ghosts, we can't touch objects. We need somebody who is alive and can touch things, and as you can see, Angie here's too small,"

"Wait a minute! Are you Frankie? The son of Don Lino?" Hurley narrowed his eyes at me

"Yes, I am,"

"I had heard you had died, but I never thought I would see your ghost hanging out around here,"

I sighed in irritation.

"Hey, Hurley, he had a bad temper so I would try not to make him angry if I were you," Sonia tried to break the tension

"I just noticed," Hurley replied with an apologetic expression, "so? Where is his body buried?"

"Actually, sharks don't bury their dead. They throw them into the bottom of the sea and eventually the currents carry it off somewhere,"

"And how are we supposed to find it?"

"Leave that to us,"

Sonia swam up to my face

"Listen, I will link you to your body so that you can swim to its location. Hurley will follow you, ad when you find your body, bring it back here where no one can find it. Angie and I will go to make the potion." She instructed

"And then what?" I inquired

"We'll meet you where you take your body, and don't worry. Don't forget ghosts can teleport,"

I laughed silently. Sonia touched my forehead…

And everything went black…

When I recovered my senses, I was no longer in the reef, but in an empty field of water and sand. There were a few rocks around, but what called my attention was what appeared to be the body of a shark wrapped in bandages… wait a minute, the body of a shark? Was that my body? I noticed Hurley was next to me, looking over at my body. Then he turned to look at me

"Hey, is that…?" he whispered

"… I'm not sure… could you remove the bandages from the face?" I turned to look at him

Hurley nodded and swam towards the body; I noticed the bandages were still white. Hurley started to wrap the bandages of the head… and when the head was unwrapped, my heart skipped a beat.

It was my body.

I breathed deeply. My face was serene, as if I was just sleeping. But it had no signs of decomposition, and it looked sleek. Sonia had said that my body wouldn't decompose until my soul passed on…

"Hey, Frank," I heard Hurley's voice

"What is it?" I inquired softly while turning to look at him.

He was looking at my body, to my dorsal fin, to be more precise. He was staring at a large scar on it; that scar…

"What happened to you? How did you get that scar?" he asked, his eyes showing a great curiosity

"… You really want to know?"

The dolphin nodded slowly.

"It happened when my brother, Lenny, was four…"

_I was swimming home from school. Everything around me was calm, for the moment. However, it surprised me that Lenny had not swum after me, like he usually did. He still had not his front teeth, so I had to look out for him. After a while, I heard someone calling my name…_

"_Frankie!" I recognized my little brother's voice_

_I turned around and noticed that, indeed, Lenny was swimming towards me in a hurry. I barely had time to react when Lenny quickly swam behind me and peeked his head, a terrorized look on his face. _

"_What's wrong?" I asked him in confusion_

_The answer soon swam into my field of vision. Five young shark pups about my age, maybe older, were swimming at top speed towards us. I understood what was going on; they were after my brother, but not to have a chat, I was sure._

_When they stopped a few steps from us, I recognized them immediately; Paolo and his gang. Actually that was not the first time we encountered, they were quite the bullies. I admit, I was a bully too, but not as bad as them. _

"_Hey, shrimp face," I greeted coldly_

"_Well, look who it is," Paolo laughed sarcastically, "hey, Franklin. Have you seen a guppy around here?"_

_I knew that he was talking about Lenny, who was still hiding behind me. _

"_Yes, I did. But I'm not letting you put your nasty fins on him," I growled threateningly_

"_Hey, in case you're forgetting, we're five against one,"_

"_Afraid to fight on your own?"_

_That was it, that was the last straw. Paolo bared his teeth at me and turned to see the other four pups._

"_Get him!" he growled_

"_Lenny, go hide!" I ordered Lenny as I gently pushed him away_

_Lenny quickly swam out of sight; before the others could go after him, I tackled them to try and slow them down, but suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my tail. I turned and realized one of the other pups had dug his teeth on my tail; I growled in pain and snapped my teeth at him. When I got free of his teeth, I dug my own teeth on his dorsal fin. Blood came out of the mark teeth on my tail; I dug my tail on another of Paolo's bullies. Suddenly, I whirled around to the direction Lenny had swum and was horrified to see that Paolo and the other two were swimming after him._

"_LENNY!" I swam after them as fast as I could._

_I had a hard time swimming after them, as speed was not my forte. However, I was determined to protect Lenny, despite my tail was killing me. I saw in horror how Paolo had caught up to Lenny and had pinned him to the ground. _

"_GET AWAY FROM HIM!" I screamed in rage and tackled Paolo away from Lenny. But I did I grave mistake; I let down my guard when I turned to see if Lenny was okay. When I realized, it was too late; Paolo dug his teeth into my dorsal fin. I felt a terrible pain; I couldn't contain a scream of anger and pain._

"_Frankie!" I hear my little brother's frightened voice_

_I could hardly shake Paolo off, but I did. Then I swam towards Lenny and blocked those three from getting any closer to him. My tail and dorsal fin were bleeding, but I didn't care. I bared my teeth at them as Lenny hid behind me again… _

_However, suddenly, an expression of fear appeared on the faces of Paolo and his goons. They swam a few steps back as if they had seen a ghost. When I turned around to see what had scared them, I saw a very familiar shark giving them a very severe look. _

"_Pop…" I whispered in exhaustion and surprise_

"_S-sir…" Paolo's confidence had quickly evaporated, "we were just…"_

"_Listen, kid. You lay one fin on my kids again; I'll have a little talk with your parents. Capiche?" Pop spoke up with a VERY severe tone_

_Paolo nodded slowly and darted away with his goons after him. Pop turned to look at him, his face changed into a worried face._

"_Are you two alright?" he asked in worry, but he knew I was definitely NOT alright when he noticed I was bleeding. I was already feeling exhausted due to the loss of blood. Lenny quickly swam towards Pop and hugged him tightly, nuzzling against his chest._

"_Daddy, I'm scared!" he sobbed_

"_There, there, it's alright," Pop wrapped his fins around Lenny, "I'm here…"_

_He then turned to look at me._

"_What happened, Frankie?" he inquired_

"_You know, Paolo and his goons…"_

_Pop nodded, understanding._

"_My boys will pay a little visit to his parents later, right now we have to focus on your injuries." _

_I nodded slowly, but my tail was killing me. Besides, I didn't feel like swimming right now. Pop had to carry me all the way to the ocean liner, but he tried not to move me very much. When Mom saw me, she almost had a heart attack. _

"_Lino, what happened?" she almost yelled while swimming closer to take a look at me_

"_I'll explain you later! Where's Doc?" Pop replied in alarm_

"_He's in his office!"_

_Pop took me with Doc while Lenny stayed with Mom…_


	10. Broken Heart

Shattered Soul

Chapter 10- Broken Heart

"That's why your tail and dorsal fin look like that?" Hurley couldn't help but to stare at my body's dorsal and tail fin.

"Yeah. The doctor said I was lucky; anyone would have already died because of the loss of blood," I replied when I finished, "he said I was very strong for my age. After that, Lenny was sticked to me the whole time when we went to school; sometimes, that annoyed me."

In fact, after the incident with Paolo, Lenny would always follow me around, no matter where I went. Even though Paolo and his goons had been frightened away by Pop and their parents had scolded them pretty badly, Lenny was wary. He knew they would not stand a chance against me, and that I would always protect him. How I missed those days…

"Hey, how much do you weight?" Hurley brought me back from my thoughts; I noticed he had taken my body over his back. Apparently, he found my body was very heavy.

"Oh, come on! I only weight a middle ton." I defended myself

"Just tell me where your fishy friend told you to take your body,"

"She told me to take it to where nobody could find it,"

"The only place I know is near the whale-wash, in the storage room. Actually, nobody uses it,"

"Bad news, my brother is hiding there,"

Suddenly, an idea entered my head. If Angie had given Hurley the so-called Vision temporally… could she possibly give it to Lenny…?"

"Good question," suddenly, I heard Sonia's voice sound in the back of my head

"WAH!" I looked around frenetically, expecting to see her floating around, but she was nowhere around

"Hey, are you alright?" Hurley asked me in concern

"Yeah… I just thought I heard Sonia's voice…"

"That's exactly what happened," Sonia's voice spoke again

"Sonia? Where are you?" I thought, still looking around for any sign of her.

"I'm with Angie, "

"Why are you in my head?"

"I'm not in your head, not at all. We're speaking using telepathy, it's another of the advantages of being a ghost," Sonia explained

"But the catch is that you can't have any privacy," I thought in annoyance

"Anyway, what did you ask?"

"… I was wondering if Angie could give the Vision to Lenny… at least for a little while…"

"She could do that, but it would have to be at night, when nobody is looking. Why?"

"I'd like to speak to him,"

"... fine, I'll tell her later. She'll have to go work soon, but I've got great news. The potion's done."

"Really? How is that potion going to bring me back to life?"

"Well, you must enter your body and we'll pour the potion into your body's mouth. After that, the magic will do the rest,"

"Can we do it tonight?"

"I'm afraid not quite yet; the potion will need some time to assimilate. You can drink it tomorrow,"

I sighed in annoyance; I had to wait a whole day to drink a forsaken potion?

"Like I told you before, I don't make the rules, I just follow them,"

"Hey, sharkie," I heard Hurley's voice, which got me out of the trance. However, the nickname he called me…

"Don't call me sharkie!" I snapped annoyed

"Where is the reef from here?" he simply stated

Uh-uh… that struck me. He was right; I hadn't actually seen where I had gone while I had been attracted to my body. How long would it take us to find the reef?

"I don't know…" I muttered under my breath, "i think it's over there…"

I swam towards a random direction, Hurley following me while trying to carry my dead body…

… But it took us various hours to find the reef, especially because we had not a map I refused to ask for direction. That reminded me of when Lenny, Pop, Mom and I would get lost every time we went on vacation, due to the fact that 'men don't like to ask directions'. It was not until Hurley took the lead that we actually found the reef, but it was almost night. Hurley was exhausted, having had to carry my body for almost twelve hours; I felt bad for him. When we arrived to the reef, the first place we went to was the Storage Room. I wondered where Sonia was…

"Hey, Sonia, can you hear me?" I thought, expecting her to answer

But strangely, she didn't reply. Funny, ain't it? When I want to speak to her, she doesn't reply and when I want privacy, she speaks out of nowhere; I laughed softly at the thought. When we arrived to the storage room, however, I heard voices inside. Oscar and Lenny were speaking about something… I wondered if Angie was with them. I turned to look at Hurley.

"Wait here,"

"Sure… *pant*… *pant*…" Hurley was taking deep breaths

I sighed and swam through the wall. Angie was sitting on a closed bucket of paint reading the newspaper, while Oscar and Lenny were making a high and low fin.

"And hey, hey, Casanova- I saw your big finish on the news!" Lenny grinned at Oscar, but I noticed Angie was quite upset when those words escaped his mouth, "nice smooch, lover boy,"

Wait a minute, Casanova? Lover boy? What did I miss now?

"That's private!" Oscar replied

"Private?" by now, Angie had left the newspaper on the bucket of paint and was swimming towards Oscar, "the entire reef saw you do it!"

I swam towards the paint and took a peek at the newspaper… I saw a picture of Oscar being kissed by a very HOT female lionfish. I understood what was wrong with Angie: she was jealous. I turned to look at them.

"What's gotten into you?" Oscar asked her in confusion

"Me?" Angie growled, "I swear, sometimes I wanna take your big dumb dummy-head, and just…"

Then she punched her fin several times. I perfectly knew what that meant, I often did that when Lenny got me into a VERY BAD mood. Meanwhile, Lenny was peeking at them from behind a curtain.

"What's going on?" Oscar turned to Lenny, as if thinking he knew what was happening with her.

"I'm gonna stay out of this one…" Lenny hid behind the curtain again.

"Why would you even care about Lola?"

"I don't!" Angie replied

"You don't!"

"No!"

"No what?"

"I don't know!"

I sighed in annoyance. And where the heck was Sonia right now?

"Just tell me, Oscar, 'cause I'm curious," Angie swam a few steps away from Oscar, "why do you think she'd even be with you if you weren't the famous Sharkslayer?"

"Please don't fight," Lenny tried to break the tension between them, but to no avail.

"At least she treats me like I'm somebody," Oscar replied in annoyance

"But would she love you if you were a nobody?" Angie was starting to lose patience

"Nobody loved me as a nobody!"

"I DID!"

The three of us went silent. That explained lots of things, like why she hadn't simply gone and revealed the truth to the whole reef. Angie swam away from Oscar, who was as shocked as Lenny was, and her faces changed from anger to hurt.

"Before the money, before the fame…" she turned to look at Oscar, "… before the lie. To me you were a somebody, Oscar. Now you're nothing but a fake. A sham. A con… you're a joke…"

Each of those words seemed to strike Oscar right at the heart.

"Here I come…" I heard Lenny's voice once again, "ta-da!"

What I saw froze me right in place. I could not believe what I was seeing… Lenny was dressed as a DOLPHIN! He had painted himself in blue and white, there was caution black and yellow tape wrapped around his neck like a scarf, and there was a utility bell around his waist. Actually, I didn't have anything against dolphins anymore, but I was the only shark. if Pop saw this…

"Sebastian, the whale-washing dolphin," Lenny made some Dolphin squeaks, but that didn't seem to distract Angie and Oscar from their argument.

"Angie…" Oscar tried to get closer to her

"No, forget it," Angie retorted still hurt, "just go. Because I'm tired of hearing how ev3eryhting you had in your life wasn't good enough… including me."

Oscar was speechless. He looked at the ground sadly and swam out of the storage room, Angie sniffed. Lenny swam a bit closer to her…

"Angie?" he asked in concern

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," Angie apologized, trying to blink her tears away, "go, go back and do it again,"

"Hey come on," Lenny dried a tear that was coming out of her eye with his fin, "it'll be ok,"

Angie smiled slightly at him. I felt so bad about her… I swam closer to her and tried to put my fin on her shoulder… she finally seemed to notice I was in there too. However, Lenny didn't understand what she was looking at.

"Angie, what are you staring at? There's nothing there," Lenny was trying to find the thing she was looking at.

Apparently, Angie thought now it was the best time to tell him about me.

"Lenny… there's something I need you tell you…" she started, nervous notable in her voice, "… about your brother…"

THAT caught Lenny's attention; he turned to look at her, confused.

"My brother? What do you mean?"

I was speechless… how would Lenny react to this? I thought that he would react the same as Hurley did when Angie told him.

"… He's… a ghost…" Angie gulped

"… What…?" Lenny was looking at her in confusion

"I… I can see his spirit, I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth!"

"Angie," I spoke up, "we can give him he vision, just like Hurley,"

Angie turned to look at me.

"But Sonia's not here…"

Lenny was freaking out a bit, seeing Angie speak to no one… in his vision, at least.

"I can do it with you…" I suggested, remembering Sonia's absence

Angie swam up to Lenny's head, and placed her fin on his forehead. I did the same, an soon the same light from before shone.

"Angie, what was-?" Lenny was seriously freaking out

"Look over there," Angie pointed at me

Lenny sighed and did as told…. Then froze in place. His cheerful green eyes were looking directly into my hazel eyes; I could see he was more shocked than anything. He swam a bit closer to me.

"F-Frankie?" he mumbled, still in shock.

"… hi, Len," I tried to smile, but I couldn't find it in my heart.

There was silence for a moment, it seemed like it lasted an eternity. Even seconds seemed eternal. Finally, after all this time, he could finally SEE and HEAR me… then it happened.

"FRANKLIN!"


	11. Brother

Shattered Soul

Chapter 11- Brother

He saw me, he could finally see me. I felt almost better; I could finally tell him what I felt. The only bad thing is that when Lenny tried to hug me, his fins went through me; I guess that Angie could only give Lenny the Vision, not the Touch. However, Lenny was still happy to see me, so much he was crying. Angie left the storage room, apparently she knew we would need some time alone.

"Franklin," he called me by my full name, "you're here! I thought you were dead!"

"I'm dead, Len," I replied softly, unable to contain my own tears, "but I've been following you around,"

"Really?"

"I've seen you since you ran away from home. I heard everything you said… even that you missed me,"

Lenny tried to touch my fin, but again, his fin went through mine.

"Don't bother… I can't touch you, neither can you, unfortunately…"

I looked at the ground in sadness

"Len…" I looked up into his green eyes, "…did you really miss me?"

"Frankie…" Lenny sniffed, "why wouldn't I miss you? You're my brother, we're family,"

"But I've been nothing but a jerk and a bully to you… I never thought you would love me despite all of that…"

"It's what brothers and friends do, they forgive each other,"

I sobbed silently and swam closer to Lenny.

"Len… I never told you this, but…" I looked into the depths of his eyes once again, "… I love you… you're my little brother, and I'm sorry… for everything…"

I felt lighthearted after I told my brother how I had been feeling while he could not see me. However, I was a bit worried; would Sonia get angry for this? I hoped she wouldn't… my attention turned back to Lenny's disguise.

"What are you wearing? Why are you dressed like that?" I asked him a little annoyed, although I tried not to show my annoyance.

Lenny's smile faded away and he looked at the ground, sadness notable in his features.

"… See… I don't know if you saw it, but a few hours earlier Oscar…"

"The fish who claimed to have killed me, you mean," I growled softly, still repulsed at the thought.

"Yeah, well, he and I faked a fight because Pop had sent his boys here to ice him… you know what it means, don't you?"

"Of course I know what 'ice' means, I've done it so myself a few times…" I laughed slightly

"Long story short, we faked my death and-"

That caught me off guard.

"You WHAT?" I yelled in shock, "Lenny, why did you do such a thing?"

"Would you let me finish?" Lenny locked his eyes on me, a bit angry.

I managed to calm down to hear the rest of his story

"I couldn't go back home to face Pop, Frankie…" my brother looked at the ground once again, "I simply can't go and tell him I'm a vegetarian, it would disappoint him. That's why I faked my death, so I could start a new life,"

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know how hard it will be for Pop to have lost 'both' his sons with barely a week in between? It's going to kill him!" I snapped, "and what about Mom? Did you even think on what she would feel?"

Lenny seemed to understand what I meant. I could not bear that thought; Mom and Pop would be crushed completely, if they haven't already. Pop was strong, surely he could eventually overcome it, but Mom… she was not as strong as Pop was, she would never overcome it, I was sure… Lenny looked at the ground, ashamed.

"I didn't think about THAT detail, Frankie…"

"Len, what do you think would be better? Let them think you are dead and break their hearts completely, or tell them the truth and save them the pain? I know Pop is not a… easy-going father… but he will accept you're a vegetarian after some time."

"That's easy for you to say!" Lenny turned to see me, his sadness turned to hurt, "you were always his favorite, the apple in his eye! It was always 'Frankie, Frankie, Frankie' I ever heard around the house. For him, you were his perfect son, you 'did what you were supposed to!'"

Hearing those words coming from Lenny severely broke my heart… again. I never thought he had felt that way; this made me wish I had known better and cared more for his feelings. I knew he was having an emotional rant, so I decided not to interrupt him.

"And YOU were no better!" Lenny cried, tears visibly in his eyes, "you also labeled me as a disgrace, a disappointment and an embarrassment to the family! You were more open on the subject than Pop, but it still hurt! I NEVER FELT HAPPY OR SAFE AROUND YOU TWO WHEN YOU STARTED TO ABUSE ME EMOTIONALLY!""

That was the last straw; my heart shattered to pieces when I heard his final sentence. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks once again, but these were tears or pure pain; especially because I was aware that everything Lenny was saying was true… I swam closer to him, when he had started to cry openly.

"Len… I'm truly sorry, I never thought of how you were feeling when I did everything I did to you…"

Len's eyes had softened up. I heard a noise and looked towards the door to see Angie floating there, Hurley was trying to peek inside but was having such luck.

"Angie, what's happening in there?" he inquired

"A family reunion," Angie replied softly.

"I think I'm going to cry," a new voice joined in, a voice I recognized too well.

"Sonia? Where are you?" I looked around in search for her, and saw her floating a few inches over my head.

But there was something wrong with her, there was some kind of… regret in her face.

"Is something wrong?" I swam up to her, Lenny watching from beneath.

"Frankie…" she spoke softly, and looked down at Lenny, "I see you and Angie gave him the Vision as well…"

"Are you mad?"

"No, no… it's just that…"

Sonia turned away, still looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…." I heard her whisper

"Hey, Frankie, who is that?" Lenny spoke up

"This is Sonia, she is the Keeper of the Death, I'll explain you later," I turned my attention back to Sonia, "Is something wrong, Sonia? Where have you been all this time?"

Sonia finally turned to face me, the look in her eyes sent chills running down my spine.

"… sorry about my absence, but I had to go pick up another soul…"

"Whose soul?" my curiosity got the better of me.

Sonia, however, looked at the ground once again, she apparently didn't want to answer.

"I don't know how you would take it…"

"What do you mean?" Lenny swam up to where we were, his curiosity getting the better of him as well.

"Frankie, Lenny…" Sonia turned to face us both, her face showing lots of regret…

"Whose soul did you take?" I inquired once again.

"… Your mother's…"


	12. Missing

Shattered Soul

Chapter 12- Missing

My entire world froze when I heard those words. Had something happened to mom? I took a quick glance at Lenny and saw he was just as shocked

"Mom? What do you mean? What happened to her?" I could barely speak from shock

"Your mother is dead; I just picked up her soul and took her to Heaven," Sonia closed her eyes, visibly upset.

"Mom is… dead?" I heard Lenny's trembling voice. I turned around to look at him and saw he was close to tears again; I also noticed Angie and Hurley were staring at us. Well, actually, Angie was staring at us; Hurley was trying to look inside. I swam closer to Lenny.

"Len…" I whispered

Lenny didn't speak. He sat down from shock and looked at the ground, breathing deeply. I looked over at Sonia

"Why did she die? What happened?" I didn't mean to yell at her, but I was as shocked and pained as Lenny.

"She died of a broken heart…" Sonia replied sadly, "when she found out Lenny was supposedly dead, she couldn't take it…"

"How's Pop?"

"He thinks he lost both his sons, and now his wife. How do you think he is?"

I was devastated now. I could not believe it; I had hoped to see Mom when I went back to life, but she was gone now… tears began to roll down my cheeks.

"No…" I whispered under my breath, "no… no, damn it, no!"

"Frankie?" I whirled around upon hearing my name; I noticed both Lenny and Angie staring at me in disbelief.

"I have never seen you crying…" Lenny whispered

I sighed sadly. Like I said before, I had not cried since my grandfather Vitor had died about 13 years ago. Don't ask me how, because it might take me long. Anyway, Angie swam towards Lenny and me.

"Guys, I'm really sorry…" she whispered with sadness notable in her voice.

"It's okay," I replied; Hurley managed to peak his head inside,

"Hey, Angie, if you don't need me for anything else…" he asked.

"There's something else you can do, you can bring Frankie's body in here," Sonia replied, although she still had sadness and regret in her voice

Lenny looked at her in confusion, but he still had tears rolling down his cheeks

"Why?"

"Hey, don't you think it would be better to hide your brother's corpse in here where no one can find it and it wouldn't call the attention?"

Lenny remained silent at her reasoning. Angie opened the door of the garage and Hurley pushed my body inside carefully, first making sure there was no one around. I was silent; what could I say, anyway? After placing my body on the ground softly, Hurley said his goodbyes before going back to his home.

"Guys, I must go home," Angie spoke, "I have work…"

"Don't worry, you can go," Sonia whispered.

After Angie left, a wave of sadness waved over the three of us. Lenny didn't say any, thing else; he simply went to the bed, rested and apparently fell asleep. However, I could tell he wasn't really sleeping. I looked back at Sonia, who seemed about to cry.

"Sonia, are you alright?" I inquired softly, concern notable in my voice. It surprised me, since I don't usually let my emotions get the better or me.

"I'm really sorry, Frankie…" she spoke, close to tears

"It was not your fault; you just do your job…"

"But at what cost? Look at Lenny, he is devastated! I never realized the pain I caused when I took someone's soul to the afterlife until now!"

"Don't worry…"

After that, I did something I never thought I would do in my entire life: I wiped a tear that fell from Sonia's face with my fin softly. If my friends saw me now, they would never stop teasing me about "I had fallen in love with a fish". Sonia smiled at me.

"T-thanks… Franklin…" she whispered, her pure-white scales becoming slightly pink in a blush. Actually, I blushed as well. After a while, I decided to try and break the tension.

"… So… Angie was in love with Oscar the whole time?"

Sonia's mood seemed to lighten up, "I suppose she was, since I actually felt her pain,"

"I felt sorry for her… she is so cheerful, I never thought I'd see her suffer like that..."

Suddenly, I felt a chill down my spine; the kind of chills that I had when I sensed something bad would happen.

"Did you feel that?" I asked her

"Feel what?" Sonia tilted her head slightly in confusion

"I felt a chill…"

"Perhaps it was just the night air, don't freak out about it."

The night air? That made sense, perhaps I was just cold. I hoped so…

But in the morning I would realize I was wrong.


	13. Fishnapped

Shattered Soul

Chapter 13- Fishnapped

I woke up earlier than usual; I didn't want to have another "episode" with Sonia. I noticed Lenny wasn't in here, neither were Angie or Oscar.

"You're finally awake," I heard Sonia's voice; I turned around and saw her floating a few steps away.

"Where's Len?" I inquired

"He's at the Whale Wash. He got a job there as a whale-washing dolphin,"

"Right…" I muttered under my breath, remembering Lenny's disguise.

I decided to keep an eye on Lenny; actually, I also wanted to see how the Whale Wash worked, I had never been there.

"You have never been to the Whale Wash?" Sonia inquired as we swam out of the Storage Room.

"… Well, once, but I was too young to remember." I replied, "Speaking of which, how's Len doing?"

"Fine. He's still sad about your mother, but he's not letting it get into his head,"

I looked at her in confusion

"… It means he's not getting depressed," Sonia rolled her eyes

I nodded accepting the answer as we entered the Whale Wash, unseen like always. I was impressed with all the machinery in there, and I must admit those whales left very clean. I noticed Lenny, disguised for obvious reasons, was apparently waxing a turtle with some sea turtles. I noticed a small fish carrying Valentine Day's presents swam by… I immediately recognized the "Shark Slayer". I resisted the urge to go and scare the hell out of him; Lenny turned to look at him, distracted from the waxing.

"Hey, Oscar!" he called

"I can't talk!" Oscar turned around, "I gotta find Angie! I need to tell her I love her!"

I was quite surprised. That Oscar guy had apparently been moved by yesterday's little scene. I followed him and Lenny, ignoring the cheers from the other fish. I noticed two jellyfish on the phone booth, for some reason it sent a chill down my spine again.

"Is something wrong?" Sonia sat in my head

"I have a bad feeling about this…" I replied in a serious tone, despite I had the urge to laugh at those jellyfish. Then I saw a puffer fish swimming towards them with an annoyed look on his face. I recognized him; it was Sykes.

"Do know him?" Sonia asked once again

"He used to work for Pop until… two days ago…" I joked

"How many times do I have to tell you?" I heard him say in annoyance to the jellyfish, "it's 'gosh'! 'You get a whale of a wash, and the price, oh, my gosh´!"

"Me gets it man," one of the jellyfish replied

When the telephone rang, the other jellyfish picked the call.

"Whale wash?"

The other jellyfish snatched it away, "rhymes with gosh"

Sykes angrily snatched the phone from the jellyfish, "give me that! Get out of here! Go be useless somewhere else!"

The two jellyfish left in laughter, and Oscar and Lenny got closer. I did as well, wondering why Angie wasn't in there.

"Sykes, where's Angie?" Oscar inquired while looking around for the pink angelfish.

Sykes hadn't time to answer, since the telephone rang again.

"Whale wash, a whale of a wash…" he seemed to realize it was not a client calling, he turned towards Oscar, "it's for you,"

Oscar took the phone from Sykes, Lenny and I got closer to listen.

"Hello?" Oscar spoke up

"Is this the Sharkslayer?" I heard, recognizing Luca's voice. Why did he call here?

"Yeah, who is it?"

"It's Luca the oct… I mean, forget about it! Now you follow these Instructions to the letter, ok?"

"Oh, no…" I muttered under my breath, knowing what that meant.

"What is it?" Sonia inquired

"They have Angie…"

"What?"

I got it now. That's the reason I felt the chill last night, I had felt Angie was in now, Oscar had found the package and was holding a necklace of pink pearls; Sonia understood.

"There's a sit-down in one hour," I heard Luca

"Who is it?" Lenny inquired

"Shh!" Oscar replied and put the phone back in his ear

"Be there, I you don't wanna see her sleeping with the fishes... The dead ones," Luca spoke again, "now, nod your head if you understand,"

I rolled my eyes; Luca has not changed a little bit. Oscar hung up the phone with an ashamed look on his face.

"They got Angie, and they want a sit-down…" he muttered in regret, "I never meant for anybody to get hurt, especially not Angie… this is all my fault,"

"Classic move, I've seen it a thousand times," Sykes spoke up in sadness

Lenny frowned, "they take the thing you love the most, and then they use it against you."

"What's a sit-down?" Sonia inquired in confusion

"A meeting. That's how Pop handles the reef… sometimes. Other times he prefers to use the 'bad way'." I explained

"We gotta go to that sit-down and we gotta save her," Oscar finally spoke and stood from the chair he had sat on.

"Whoa! Look, I wanna save Angie, too!" Lenny quickly swam in front of Oscar to stop him, "but I can't waltz in and say: 'hey, Pop. I'm a dolphin!"

"Lenny?" Sykes recognized my brother

"And my friend the Sharks layer's a fake!"

"Fake?" now the puffer fish turned towards Oscar in confusion.

"We're gonna need a better plan than that!"

Sykes laughed nervously, "This is a joke, right? Because I told Lino…"

Then he froze with a 'oh, no, I'm screwed' face. I was trying not to laugh.

"Hey, get ready you're going to love this," I could barely warn Sonia about what was coming…

Sykes inflated.

"Tell me that's not Lenny!" he spoke in a terrified, high-pitched voice, "tell me you're a real Sharkslayer! PLEASE!"

Oscar looked down guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Sykes… I'm not."

Suddenly, his face lit up and a grin drew on his face.

"… but the sharks don't know that," he spoke.

"This is going to bring trouble," I muttered under my breath.

"Hey, since when do you care about getting into trouble?" Sonia teased me.

"Actually, I don't. But I'm not the one who will get into trouble… if Pop finds out Lenny is dressed as a dolphin, he's going to be in for big trouble…"

I hoped Oscar's plan would work.


	14. The SitDown

Shattered Soul

Chapter 14- The Sit-Down

I could not calm down.

We were on the opposite side of the table where the sit-down was being held. Sharks from the Five Families were sitting around us, on the far end sat Don Ira Feinberg, Don of the Leopard Sharks and Pop's friend, and Luca, the dimwitted octopus that summoned us to the meeting. Oscar was sitting on the chair, unable to calm his nerves, Lenny gulped nervously while hoping none of the sharks in the meeting would recognize him and Sykes… well, Sykes was not doing any better than those two. He was breathing very hard and quick; I wouldn't be surprised if he inflated at any minute. Sonia and I were floating next to Lenny and, like always, invisible to the naked eye.

When Oscar leaned to teach for the cup next to him, the Hammerhead Sharks to his left flinched and trembled in fear with their eyes set on him, as if thinking he would slaughter them. Oscar's shyness turned into confidence and he turned to see the Killer Whales to his right, deciding to get a little fun. He looked at his fin as if minding his own business, then threw a growl at the Killer Whales while shaping his fin as a clawed hand. The Whales gasped in fear, and the nearest one fainted out of fear. I could not contain a laugh.

"Oscar, will you stop screwing around?" Sykes growled full of nerves, "this'll never work! We're dead!"

Oscar motioned him to be quiet, I sighed in frustration. This was a BAD idea.

"Hey, since when do you mind getting into trouble? When your Life File was shown to me, I read you were quite the troublemaker," Sonia commented while sitting on my head.

"Hey, for your informa- what's a Life File?" I asked in confusion, not minding what Oscar was saying

"It's a file of your actions, both good and bad, and your life since birth. From Life Files we decide if a deceased goes to Heaven or Hell,"

"Hey, where were you going to take me?"

"… Believe me; you don't want to know,"

However, I could insist no further, because I heard a faint sound and saw Pop enter the room. He didn't look very good…

"Now which of you sardines called his meeting?" Oscar mockingly asked.

Pop heard this, however, and a frown drew on his face. I gulped; Pop was as patient as he could but if he was called Sardine…

"That would be me," he spoke, slamming the door shut. Oscar's confidence turned to shreds when he heard his voice.

"So, this is the Sharkslayer?" Pop swam up to Oscar's chair and took a look at him, not really impressed.

Lenny looked away and pretended to rub his head, when in reality I knew he was trying to hide his face from Pop, fearing he would recognize him.

"I've been looking forward to meeting you," Pop then swam away from Oscar's chair and started to swim towards the other end of the table, "I feel like we're practically family, you know that? Funny, ain't it?"

I noticed a hurt look on his face, "I brought my kids into the world, full of love and care… and you took them out."

As I feared, Pop thought Lenny was dead. That's why he was crushed; he believed he had lost everything. His wife and both his sons; I felt a squirming in my heart.

"You know who am I?" Pop's face changed into a more serious and cold face, "do you know who I am? I'm the Don the boss of the Great White Sharks,"

"Hey, boss, I saved you a seat," Luca spoke and motioned Pop to a seat next to him.

Pop sighed in frustration, "I've been running this reef since before you were born," then he sat down, right between Luca and Don Ira, "and if you thought a guy like me can't get to a guy like you… guess what?"

He motioned a waiter, who placed a silver platter covered in front of him.

"… You thought wrong."

Pop lifted the cover with a grin, and we saw her. Angie was tied and gagged with algae tape, and when she saw us, Oscar in particular, she threw him a look that I read like 'oh, great. It's you.'

Oscar froze in place, but tried to save the situation.

"Pah. Ma, you're the one who's wrong," he grinned, "I barely even know that girl. What's your name, miss?"

Angie threw him a look as if he was crazy. Then I saw a VERY HOT lionfish float next to Pop. Oh, dear, too bad I was dead.

"Pervert," I heard Sonia's comment, but I didn't mind.

"Oh yeah?" even her voice was sensual, "well, I say he's bluffing,"

"Marone, if I wasn't married…" I heard one of the Great Whites whisper to his friend

"How ya doing, pretty lady?" Don Ira smiled at her, but the Lionfish made a face of disgust

"Lola," Oscar frowned, "we meet again,"

"You know, Sharkslayer, there's only one thing I like better than money," her face twisted into a glare, "Revenge,"

Oh, dear… if I could steal a kiss from her, I would right now.

"OW!" Sonia smacked my head, "what was that for?"

"That's for being a pervert,"

The other sharks swooned.

"Oh! I'm in love," one of them sighed

"Your sharkslayin' days are over, and there ain't nothing you can do about it," Pop sneered

However, a chuckle caught everyone's attention. All the Sharks in the room turned towards Oscar, who was chuckling sarcastically; after a while it turned into a loud laughter attack. I was confused; what was so funny about this? "

"You know, I'm starting to think he's going out of his mind," I commented to Sonia

"Don't be so prejudicial. He's got a plan in that empty head of his,"

"What plan? They're doomed."

"Just see…. And you will get the shock of your life,"

"You got nothing. Nothing!" Oscar's declaration called my attention, "Sebastian, take her out."

Lenny sped up towards Pop, looking at Angie and… ATE HER? My eyes almost popped out of my skull, I could not believe it! My vegetarian brother had eaten Angie! I never thought I would see this…. However, I noticed he was in great pain; I realized he hadn't really eaten Angie; he was keeping her in his mouth. I didn't bother to see what Oscar was doing, I swam closer to Lenny. He gave me a quick glance while trying to keep Angie inside his mouth.

"He wants to ask how you stand having a living fish in your mouth," Sonia spoke up

"Len, it's not that bad," I tried to calm him down, "just don't open your mouth and stiffen your belly, after that try not to touch her with your tongue and everything will be fine,"

Lenny glanced at me quickly again.

"He thinks 'easy for you to say, you were always a cold blooded killer and you have no problem. And Angie's taste is horrible'," Sonia translated again

"OSCAR!" Sykes and Lenny simultaneously whispered through teeth at Oscar

"What?" Oscar asked in annoyance, while turning from Pop. I noticed he was floating in front of Pop's face, what had I missed now?

Then it happened.

Lenny threw out.

Angie came out, and so did various things. I didn't bother to see what things they were, I was worried about Lenny.

"THE HORROR! THE HORROR!" he cried, until he coughed up a beach ball and started to furiously wipe his tongue.

Oscar dashed towards Angie to make sure she was okay, "Ang, are you ok?"

"No, I'm not okay!" Angie replied in anger, "he ATE me!"

"I couldn't take it! The taste was killing me!" Lenny cried out

"Lenny?" Pop spoke in surprise and confusion

Both Lenny and I froze; it was over. Pop recognized his voice, he was in great trouble.

"Is that you?" Pop swam up to Lenny while my brother turned to face him, defeated, "you're alive?"

Pop then hugged Lenny, relief notable in his face.

"I thought I lost you," he swam back a bit, slightly confused and angry to why his son was dressed like a dolphin, "what are you wearing, huh? What is that?"

Lenny looked down and took off his scarf, revealing his gills; then he took the sponge from his belt and wiped the paint off his face. Finally, he took off the leather band around his snout. The whole room exploded in gasps of shock and surprise. Pop just floated there, staring at Lenny in astonishment.

"Boss, its Lenny!" Luca cried out, "He was wearing a disguise so we wouldn't recognize him, but now he's not wearing a disguise, so we do recognize him,"

I smacked my head with my fin; Luca had to speak precisely in that moment to point out the obvious?

"Hi, Pop," Lenny spoke up in shame

"Are you kidding me?" just as I thought, Pop was angry, "are you kidding me? are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea how this looks?"

Lenny didn't say anything, Pop glanced at Oscar in shock.

"What are you doing with him? He took out your flesh and blood, Frankie!" he spoke in a VERY angry tone

Upon hearing my name, Lenny tried to say something, "but, Pop, listen…"

"But nothing!" Pop angrily yet softly poked at Lenny with his fin, "you never take sides against the family! Never!

"Hey. Don. Lino. Sir. It's not his fault," Oscar tried to help Lenny, "This is between you and me,"

"What did I ever do to you?" Pop spoke with pain notable in his eyes, "you took Frankie away and you turned Lenny into a dolphin!"

Pop's face then changed from hurt to hate.

"I'm gonna get you!"

Oscar just darted out of the way when Pop furiously snapped his teeth at him and a 'cat-chases-mouse' chase started..

"Oscar, look out!" Angie cried

"Oscar, swim!" Lenny opened the door, "swim for your life!"

Oscar quickly swam through the door with Pop chasing after him with the fury of a demon. After they left, we turned to see the other Sharks, who were still there. Lenny laughed nervously

"Well, gentlemen… in behalf of my dad… meeting adjourned!" then he darted out of the room, Angie and Sykes grabbed onto his dorsal fin. I went after him, Sonia grabbing my dorsal fin.

We were in SERIOUS trouble.


	15. The Truth

Shattered Soul

Chapter 15- The Truth

I was getting tired, yet I was determined to keep up with my brother. Lenny had left behind the rest of his disguise, something I was thankful for. Pop was chasing after Oscar, and they were heading directly towards the Whale Wash. Sonia clung to my dorsal fin, doing her best not to let go. Lenny and I could not speak, since Sykes was there too, and he was the only one here that didn't have the Vision. He would think we went nuts.

"Hey, do you think Oscar will escape your father?" I heard Sonia speak

"Are you kidding me? Nothing can escape Pop!" I replied, panting heavily.

Pop and Oscar were way ahead of us; on the distance, I could see the whales swimming away from the wash in terror, I realized Oscar and Pop were already in the Wash. Lenny and I sped up, and got to the Wash in time to see Oscar dart towards the control both.

"Come on, Lino!" he shouted, "it's time to clean up your act!"

Pop charged after him, in anger.

"Pop, leave him alone!" Lenny raced towards Pop, but he was grabbed by a giant clamp mechanism. I recognized those clamps; they were for whales which accidentally got soap in the eye.

I stopped abruptly, and swam down to my brother.

"Len, are you alright?" I asked him

He couldn't answer my question, as a cloud of bubbles engulfed us both. Well, actually, they engulfed Lenny, since the bubbles didn't even touch me. I noticed Angie had been trapped in a soap bubble. When the bubbles cleared away, I looked up at Oscar. He blinked as soon as he saw my brother.

"Lenny? What are you doing in there?" he spoke in shock

"Sorry…" Lenny looked down, apologizing.

"Where's Lino?"

Pop rose up behind him, a grin on his face. It sent shivers down my spine; my father can be scary sometimes.

Oscar's eyes widened and he gulped in fear.

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"You're mine now," Pop growled

Oscar darted off, yelling.

"I'm SO going to get him when I come back from the dead," I muttered under my breath

"Come on, he's in hot water already!" Sonia replied

Pop snapped at Oscar and darted into the control boot, knocking it aside. Oscar turned around the corner; I noticed Lenny started to struggle even harder, trying in vain to get free. Then I saw Oscar dart back with a determined grin on his face, two brushes closing in. I realized he had a plan B in mind. Pop was chasing after him, this time on his tail. The brushed closed in, pinning my father where he was. He struggled violently, attempting to get free. Oscar tumbled forward and made it to the control booth; he started to pull levers frantically, brushes closed in everywhere on my father, almost completely immobilizing him. In one final attempt, Pop snarled fiercely and whipped his head up, at which Oscar pulled one more lever and two more brushes shot out, this time completely trapping Pop. There was no way he could escape now… I couldn't believe it. Pop had been defeated by a puny, little fish.

"OW!" I snapped in pain, and looked up at Sonia in annoyance, "what did I do now?"

"I'm a fish too, just for you to know," she replied, in annoyance

"Okay, sorry for offending you,"

"Hey, where's Angie?"

Both Sonia and I looked up, and saw Angie was still trapped in the bubble.

"Okay!" she exclaimed, annoyed, "someone needs to get me out of the bubble, okay?"

Oscar reached up and popped the bubble, Angie fell on his fins with a surprised yelp; they started at each other.

"Angie-" Oscar started, but was cut off when a lady news reporter stuck her microphone on his face, pushing Angie away from him.

"The Sharkslayer has done it again!" she spoke

"Hey!" Angie complained

"Wait!" Oscar yelled, "Wait!"

Angie was pushed back by the crowd that was starting to gather around.

"But wait! No!" Oscar called out for Angie, but was lifted up by the crowd. He was flattered by all the attention, but immediately got back to his senses, "whoa, hey, no, no! Angie!"

Angie had started to swim away angrily, thinking he preferred his fame than her.

"Angie!" Oscar kept calling, but she couldn't hear him.

"Oscar!" my brother yelled, "get me out of here quick! I need to get a head start so I can get as far away from here as possible!"

"Look what you did to him!" Pop growled at Oscar

"No!" Oscar added, "It's all a big misunderstanding!"

"He looks angry…" Sonia commented

For about the eighth time, I wished they could see me. I looked over at Oscar bitterly, I couldn't help but blame him for all that had happened; well, I could not blame him for the anchor that killed me, but I COULD blame him for everything else. Finally, he swam up and did what I expected the least…

"I'M NOT A REAL SHARKSLAYEEEER!" he yelled directly.

Everyone gasped in shock, and there was silence. Angie turned to see him as well, surprised. All eyes were on the fake Sharkslayer.

"… I lied," Oscar looked down, ashamed

Finally!

"What?" Pop didn't remove his eyes from him

"And I'm not a real financial advisor!" I looked over at where that shout came from, and I spotted a strange-looking crab. And I thought Luca was dimwitted…

"…okay…" Oscar then cleared his throat and looked at Pop, "it was an anchor that killed Frankie. I had nothing to do with it, and neither did Lenny,"

Pop turned to look at Lenny in confusion, "well, then if that was true, why did you run away?"

Lenny looked at him, close to tears.

"Because you always wanted me to be like Frankie," then he looked away, "I'll never be the shark you want me to be…"

"What is your problem?" Oscar spoke, "so your son likes kelp, so his best friend is a fish, so he likes to dress like a dolphin, so WHAT? Everyone loves him just the way he is,"

At this point, Oscar had swum down to Lenny and gave him a playful noogie on the head. Then he looked up at Pop

"… Why can't you?"

Pop stared sorrowfully into Lenny's eyes; he looked regretful and pained. I felt sadness emanating from him…

"Don't make the same mistake I did," Oscar finished, "I didn't know what I had… until I lost it,"

Lenny and Pop looked at each other. After some time, Lenny gave him a small smile, I had not seen it since Lenny was nine years old…

"Would you get me out of this…" Pop finally spoke, "so I can hug my kid and tell him I'm sorry?"

Lenny smiled, "Pop…"

Oscar smiled as well and pressed the release button. All the clamps let both my father and brother go; Pop smiled at my brother.

"Come here, you," he joked

Lenny swam closer to him and they hugged each other tightly.

"I love you, son," Pop spoke, "no matter what you eat or how you dress,"

I felt warmness in my chest; I was relieved that after all, Pop had understood that he couldn't force Lenny to be something he didn't like. I couldn't contain a small smile myself, but I was quite worried… how would Pop react after I went back to life? I looked over at Oscar and Angie, they were in the middle of a big kiss. When they broke away, the smiled at each other. Then Oscar swam up to Pop, looking nervous.

"So, Lino… Don…" he started, still not sure of how to say Pop's name, "we're cool, right? I mean, like, the reef is safe. We can all walk the streets without, you know, 'Aaahhh! Yeah, you know…"

"Yeah," Pop smiled, "we're cool,"

The crowd of fish around us cheered, and the lady reporter from before swam closer to Oscar.

"Oscar? Excuse me, Oscar? You've lost everything you lied so hard to achieve. Tell me, what's next for you?"

I felt tapping on my head, I looked up and saw Sonia was floating.

"Hey, the potion should be ready… let's go…" she said, solemnly

I nodded, understanding, and we swam towards the storage room. When we entered, I saw my body was still there, wrapped in bandages… I heard the door open, and turned to see Angie in the doorway.

"How did you come here without anyone noticing?" I inquired

"I told Oscar I had forgotten something here," Angie explained, "I'll get the bottle,"

She swam towards one of the shelves, and grabbed a small bottle with a purplish blue liquid.

"Hey, Franklin," Sonia spoke, "just for you to know, it tastes like whale pee,"

I sighed, and realized something that was bothering me, much to my surprise.

"Hey, Sonia," I spoke, "when I go back to life, I won't be able to see or hear you anymore, will I?"

For some reason, it bothered me. I think I had gotten used to hearing her out of the blue from all this time; it would be bored without her.

"You really think so?" Sonia blushed,

And what I would miss the most was Sonia reading my mind.

"Unfortunately, you're right. You won't be able to see me or hear me," she answered my question, sorrowfully.

"I shall enjoy the silence," I joked lightly

Angie swam towards my body, awaiting instructions from Sonia.

"Just pour it into his mouth, and it will do the trick," Sonia explained to Angie before turning to face me, "see you on the other side, Frankie,"

I felt tears forming in my eyes, but I didn't want my last moments with Sonia to be sad. As Angie was pouring the potion in my body's mouth, Sonia did what I never expected from a fish…

She kissed me.

I opened my eyes wide in shock, but before I could say something I felt something pulling me towards my body.

"Sonia! Wait a minute!" I cried out, but she had already disappeared. Everything around me became darkness…

And I opened my eyes…

XOXOXOXOXO

_Well, this was the last chapter. But I'm thinking on writing a sequel called "Shattered Heart", which takes place a year after Shattered Soul. Well, see you later!_


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